The Goonies and the Sovereign's Crown
by Roland Trask
Summary: When Mikey stumbles across a mysterious spyglass, it may prove to be the key to the Goonies greatest adventure yet. But a ruthless group of smugglers seek to lay hands on it as well.
1. Prologue: A Game of Rogues

**The Goonies and the Sovereign's Crown**

**By**

**Roland Trask**

**Prologue: A Game of Rogues**

Lightning flashed in the night out over the sea as a cold wind sailed above the waves. Edward Garofalo stood on the wharf, tightening his gray coat around him against the chill. He was a tall man, tall and fierce. His shaggy hair and thick beard had been almost consumed by gray as he entered his mid-fifties. A long, deep scar ran across his left cheek, a relic of some long ago quarrel.

He raised a cigarette and lighter to his lips with his right hand while his left remained firmly in his pocket. As he took a long drag, two figures in black approached him from the dark. One was a brawny, beefy lipped giant in a black sweater and ski cap. The other was a tall, slim, youth in a leather coat. He had a thin beard and a black patch over his right eye. They dragged their feet as they approached Garofalo.

"Well?" said Garofalo. "I've been waiting here for hours, where is it?"

A smug grin curled on the lips of the one-eyed youth. He turned to his companion and made a gesture, inviting him to explain. The buff man gave the youth a resentful glare and stepped forward.

"Where is it, Richter?" said Garofalo.

"We… we don't have it," said Richter. Garofalo's eyes widened.

"Don't have it." He turned to the grinning youth, as if expecting a more satisfactory answer from him. "Wesley?"

Wesley bit at a hangnail on his thumb and shook his head.

"Well, where the hell is it!" said Garofalo.

Richter winced with pain, and raised a hand to massage his pink, throbbing ears. "Please boss, not so loud. We broke into the museum, like you said. Which wasn't easy. We searched everywhere, the exhibits, the storage room. It just wasn't there."

"It's here, I know it is!" said Garofalo. "It's here, in Astoria, and it's in that museum! Where else could it possibly be?"

"Ed?" a squeaky voice chirped behind him. Garofalo turned to see a balding little man in a black overcoat, his long nose twisted in several odd directions after having been broken many times.

"What is it, Torbett?" said Garofalo.

Torbett hobbled forward, scratching his exposed forehead.

"From the research I did on the Astoria museum, it seems it's only been at its current location for the past three years."

"So what?"

"Well, when they moved it three years ago, they had a fund-raising retropartum exhibit…"

"Retro_spectum_."

"That's what I _said,_" Torbett said with a scowl. "Anyway, the assistant curator was in charge of moving the artifacts to be displayed, and what didn't fit into the show he stored in his own house. Perhaps the item we're looking for is there."

Garofalo furrowed his brow. "What's his name, the assistant curator?"

Torbett thought for a moment, mouthing a voiceless W. "Walsh! Irving Walsh!"

Garofalo smiled. He pulled his left arm from his pocket, revealing a sharp, prosthetic hook in place of his hand.

"Why don't we pay a visit to Mr. Walsh?"


	2. Chapter 1: There Is No Adventure

**Chapter 1: There Is No Adventure**

Mikey Walsh raced up his front steps and flung open the door, humming a tune by Talking Heads. Grabbing a soda out of the fridge, he was eager to sit down with the MAD Magazine he'd picked up on the way home from school. Before he could plop down on the couch, he noticed that neither his parents nor his brother were home.

Mikey had the house to himself, a rare occurrence. He had to seize the opportunity and do something he'd been wanting to do for a longtime. He grabbed a flashlight from the hall closet, rushed up the stairs, and yanked down the attic ladder. As he climbed into the darkness a thick mist of dust met his nostrils and made him cough. Instinctively, he reached for his asthma inhaler, but stopped. Ever since last fall, he found he didn't need it as much as he used to.

He hadn't been up in the attic since then. Since him and his friends had wandered up there that rainy Saturday afternoon, where began the greatest adventure any of them could have ever dreamed of. Mikey supposed that was why he was up there now. The adventure was over. They had found the treasure and saved their homes. But Mikey returned to where it had begun, because deep down he hoped that maybe, just maybe, another adventure awaited him up there.

The dim rays of Mikey's flashlight slowly flooded the attic, revealing a heap of ancient wonders. Sculptures, costumes, oil paintings, antique furniture, relics of pirates and American Indians all littered the Walsh family attic. Mikey smiled.

Donning a feathered tricorne hat and taking up a rusty cutlass, Mikey had a duel with an imaginary foe. Pretending to be Captain Blood, he fought off a legion of pirates, defending his treasure and the honor of the fair lady in the form of a wooden figurehead. He would have kissed her if not for fear of getting splinters in his lips. Besides, there was no way she kissed like Andy Carmichael. Mikey grinned dreamily as he recalled his first kiss with the prettiest girl in Astoria. But that was months ago. His brother Brand got the girl, and life went on. There was no adventure left.

Mikey abandoned his hat and cutlass and was about to return downstairs, when something caught his eye. In a far corner of the attic, atop a crate, a glint of gold shimmered in the weak sun that filtered through the skylight. Mikey raised a curious eyebrow and took a step closer.

He discovered a small box, just large enough to fit his sneakers in to. It was made of ancient oak with a thin band of gold framing the lid. Mikey knelt down to examine it closer. Rubbing his chin, he felt like Indiana Jones before the golden idol.

In the center of the lid was a gold medallion. Etched upon it was a relief of a great galleon on a rough sea.

Licking his lips, Mikey grasped the lid, and savored the whine of the hinges as he cracked it open. Inside, resting on a bed of red velvet, lay a golden spyglass. Mikey picked it up with a delicate hand, his eyes ablaze with wonder. A thin layer of grime covered its surface, but that didn't mar the beauty of it. Etched into the shaft were words Mikey couldn't read, in a language he supposed was Latin. Something about the spyglass, the way it shimmered, Mikey couldn't understand it, but it inspired a sense of awe and excitement he hadn't felt since he first discovered the map of One-Eyed Willy.

Mikey placed the spyglass back in its box, grabbed hold of it, and ran down the attic ladder. He dashed into his room and went to the window. For a long moment he gazed out over the Goon Docks and the distant sea before opening the box and taking up the telescope. He pulled the end of the shaft, and it opened to about a foot in length. Mikey dusted off the lens and raised it to his eye, peering at a barge leaving the harbor.

While the ship was well magnified and relatively clear, a strange optic array of colors poured through the lens, distorting it somewhat and seeming to double the image. It reminded Mikey of wearing 3-D glasses. Inspecting the lens, it seemed discolored. Mikey wondered if this was merely the effect of age or if it was intentional. Before he could ponder this any further he heard the front door open and slam and footsteps racing up the stairs. As quick as he could, he stashed the spyglass inside his denim jacket.

Mikey's older brother, Brand, appeared at his door.

"Yo," said Mikey, trying not to stutter.

Brand furrowed his brow. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Mikey said a little too quickly to convey innocence. He tried to change the subject. "Where've you been?"

"At the museum," Brand said. "Everyone's freakin out, somebody broke in last night."

"What!" said Mikey. "What happened?"

Brand plopped down on Mikey's bed, sparking an audible strain from the springs.

"I just told you, wimp, somebody broke in. The Sheriff said a window's broken and some of the exhibits are damaged, but so far it doesn't look like anything was actually stolen."

"Why would they break in and not steal anything?" Mikey asked.

"I dunno," said Brand. "I'm gonna sound really old saying this, but it was probably just a bunch a kids." Brand couldn't help but chuckle.

Mikey didn't. He didn't like the idea of someone breaking into the Astoria Museum and destroying part of their town's history. What could they have possibly been after?

"Anyway," said Brand standing up. "Dad's gonna be tied up at the museum tonight and Mom's down there with him. She gave me money for pizza. So it looks like it's just you and me tonight."

Mikey smiled. He did like the idea of being able to hang out with his brother, something they hadn't done very often since Brand started dating Andy. Unfortunately, the second Brand finished speaking he wrapped his arm around Mikey's throat, brought him into a tight headlock, and grinded his knuckles into his brother's scalp.

"The last place I wanna spend my Friday night is with a wuss like you!"

Mikey swung his arms at Brand, but this didn't seem to faze him. Brand finally let him go when he started to wheeze. As Mikey collapsed to the floor, they both heard a loud thud as something fell from his pocket. Brand looked down to see the golden spyglass on the floor.

"What is that?" said Brand with a scowl.

"Nothing," said Mikey, again too quickly to be convincing.

Brand snatched up the spyglass before Mikey could reach for it. Examining it for a minute, Brand turned to see the wooden box lying on the windowsill.

"You got this out of the attic, didn't you?"

"So what," snapped Mikey as he stood up. "If we hadn't gone up there and found Willy's map, we wouldn't be here."

"That was different," said Brand. "Dad's gonna be pissed if he finds out you were snooping around up there."

Brand dropped the spyglass into its box and thrust it into Mikey's hands.

"Put it back," he ordered, and turned to leave the room. Mikey glared at him. Brand didn't understand. Perhaps the spirit of adventure had left him.

Mikey looked down at the box in his hands. An old, splintered, rusty box. Then again, Mikey thought, perhaps there was no adventure left after all. Perhaps he was just desperately clinging to something that had long since vanished.


	3. Chapter 2: A New Chance

**Chapter 2: A New Chance**

The afternoon led into the evening, most of which Mikey spent daydreaming and Brand spent on his bench press. One by one, Mikey's friends each called him to ask about the museum break in. Mikey told them all he knew, which wasn't much, and each time he made the mistake of mentioning pizza. It wasn't long before Clark Devereux, Richard Wang, and Lawrence Cohen were all over at his house.

Lawrence stuffed his mouth full of pepperoni while regaling them with the tale of how Molly Ringwald asked him out after he rescued her from muggers.

"Didn't know Ringwald was a chubby chaser," said Clark.

"Shut up, Mouth!" mumbled Lawrence through dough and sauce.

Richard scarfed down his second slice while fiddling with the gray electric box on his chest. He flipped a tiny red switch, sending a shower of sparks out of his sleeve and across the living room.

Lawrence squealed as an ember landed on his meaty thing, singeing his plaid pants.

"Whoa, sorry about that, Chunk!" cried Richard.

"Data, will you be careful! Don't burn my house down." Brand shouted from the kitchen before returning to his phone conversation with his girlfriend.

Despite the flying sparks and his brother's outburst, Mikey wasn't snapped from his stupor.

"Yo, Mikey," said Mouth. "What's with the major bummer?"

"I dunno," said Mikey. "I just can't figure out why someone would break into the museum but not to steal anything."

"What's there to steal, it's just a bunch of old pirate junk. Like in your attic" said Mouth.

"Exactly," said Chunk. "So it's gotta be some kind of conspiracy! What better place to hide top secret contraband than in an out of the way place like Astoria. Rogue agents broke in to steal it, but they musta got compromised or something and aborted the mission!"

"Yeah, they bailed when they realized this place was Dullsville," piped Mouth.

Mikey scowled. This "Dullsville" was the very place they had risked their lives to save. Despite their incredible adventure together it hadn't taken long for each of them to fall back into all their old habits. Nothing had changed.

Brand hung up the phone with a big grin on his face.

"Andy's on her way over," he said. "Try not to be complete twerps when she gets here."

There was no indication the four of them were even listening.

"Hey, Chunk," said Data. "How's Sloth doin?"

"Oh, he's great!" Chunk shouted. "I just got a postcard from him yesterday from Fort Collins, Colorado. He's playing the Rams tomorrow!"

The Cohens had officially adopted Lotney Fratelli, or "Sloth" as they called him. They wanted to get him educated but had no idea how they were going to afford it. By a great stroke of luck they were able to send him to the University of Oregon on a complete football scholarship. According to Chunk, "Once Rich Brooks saw him play, he was like "This guys a tank!" That's when I knew he was a Duck for sure!"

Sloth had found himself a great niche playing for the Ducks, but Chunk really missed his friend. So much so his normally insatiable appetite was reduced, which no one attempted to discourage. However, it apparently wasn't strong enough to have a dramatic affect on his physique.

"So is this all we're gonna do tonight?" asked Mouth as if he had expected some big party.

"Y'know, I didn't invite you over here," said Mikey.

"Ya didn't have too," said Chunk with a goofy smile.

Mikey rolled his eyes. But now that Mouth brought it up, there was something he wanted to do.

"Hey, you guys wanna go to the library?"

Mikey was met with blank stares.

"You want us to spend our Friday night at the library?" Mouth asked in a monotone voice. "When did we become Level Five Losers?"

Data cut in "You're already a Five, Mouth."

"Shut up, Data."

Mikey craned his neck to make sure Brand was out of earshot. He reached inside his jacket and produced the golden spyglass.

"Whoa," said Chunk. "What is that?"

"I dunno," said Mikey. "I found it in the attic this afternoon."

"So you wanna spy on the neighbors then hit up the library? What's up Mike?" asked Mouth with a quizzical look.

"No, Mouth," said Data. "He said he found that in the attic. That's a very old pirate artifact."

"And look what's written on it," said Mikey pointing to the inscription. "Mouth, can you translate that?

Mouth took the spyglass and examined the writing. He shook his head.

"No way."

"Why not?" asked Mikey. "I thought you were like a language master."

"Yeah, of _living_ languages," said Mouth. "That's classical Latin, I could translate maybe two words."

"Well, what words?" asked Chunk.

Mouth stared at him.

"_The_ and _it_."

Chunk groaned.

"This is why I want to go to the library," said Mikey. "Let's do a little research on Latin and see what this thing says."

"I don't think it would say anything that important, Mikey," said Data. "Just like a prayer or something. What's the big deal?"

Mikey was about to say something, but realized he had no idea what to say. What did it matter what the spyglass said? It probably did say nothing. But what it was to him was another adventure. It sparked an excitement in him that he wanted to share with his friends. He didn't know how to phrase that.

"C'mon guys, this is a new chance."

Before any of them could respond a loud knock came from the door. Mikey raced to answer it before Brand could enter the room. He flung the door open and saw Andrea Carmichael standing there, wearing a white dress, a silver locket, and blue eye shadow. Her lovely red locks of hair fell well below her shoulders and seem to glow in the twilight. She smiled at him.

Mikey felt his face go red as he grinned back. He stared at her stupidly for a long moment. He'd never seen her look so pretty.

"Hi, Mikey," she said finally.

"Hi!" Mikey said, continuing to stare.

Andy smiled and raised her eyebrows.

"Are you… gonna let me in?" she asked.

"Oh yeah," Mikey started, quickly stepping aside. Andy giggled and stepped past him. Mikey groaned as he rubbed his forehead, thinking about the idiot he just made of himself.

Behind Andy came the tall, blonde, and lanky Stephanie Steinbrenner in a sleek, black leather jacket. She wore a new pair of glasses that had smaller, rectangular lenses, with black rims. Popping the large bubble of gum she had been blowing, Stef grinned at Mikey, amused by what had just transpired. Mikey gave her a look as if to simply say "Shut up."

After their initial "Hi," it wasn't long before Brand and Andy were wrapped in each other's arms and smooching like their plane was going down. Mikey tried not to look at the two of them, and was grateful they at least had the decency to move to another room.

Stef stuck her gum to the lid of the pizza box and helped herself to a slice.

"What are you doing here?" Mouth asked.

"Gee Mouth, nice to see you too," she said. "Me and Andy were actually hanging out until Brand invited her over. And she just _insisted_ that I tag along. What are you guys doing, anyway?"

"You're looking at it," said Chunk as he got up to go raid the fridge.

"Actually, we were about to go the library," said Mikey.

"We were?" asked Data.

"You're gonna spend Friday night at the library?" asked Stef with an arched eyebrow.

"My words exactly," said Mouth.

Mikey held up the spyglass.

"Aren't you guys the least bit curious about this?"

They all shook their heads, and once Stef had examined it herself she didn't seem that curious either. What could Mikey possibly say to motivate them? Did they not get the same sense of adventure from the spyglass that it gave him?

"Mikey, if going to the library is so important, then I'll go with you," said Data finally.

"Really?" said Mikey, his face lighting up.

"Yeah, and I can do some dumpster diving on the way."

"Y'know what, fine, I'll go too," said Stef. "I don't really want to hang around _those_ two all night, anyway." She pointed her thumb towards the rec room where they could hear Brand and Andy rolling around.

"Well, if you guys are going, I wanna go!" said Chunk emerging from the kitchen, wiping whipped cream from his chin.

They all stared at Mouth. He stared back.

"All right, fine!" he said with a dramaitc wave of his arms. "Let's all go on the great library adventure!"

Mikey smiled. He had a feeling that despite Mouth's reluctance he was eager to go because it was a chance to hang out with Stef. From Stef's smirk, he was sure she was thinking the same thing.

The boys grabbed their coats and Mikey called out to his brother.

"Brand, we're all going to the library!"

A barely audible noise came from the rec room that Mikey assumed was Brand's acknowledgement. He was certain his brother would forget by the time their parents came home, and he wasn't going to risk being grounded. Grabbing a pencil and a scrap of paper he scribbled:

_Mom and Dad,_

_Went to the library. Be back later tonight._

_Mike_

Mikey slapped the note on the refrigerator and went out on the porch. The first stars were beginning to appear as the evening grew darker. He saw Mouth, Data, and Chunk all mounting their bikes.

"C'mon, let's get this over with," called Mouth. "I wanna be back in time for Carson."

"Hey, what am I supposed to ride?" said Stef. "I came in _that_."

She pointed to Andy's Dad's white Cadillac parked in the driveway. Mikey was surprised Mr. Carmichael had let Andy borrow it, as the word at school was she wasn't a great driver.

"Just take Brand's bike, he won't mind."

Data knelt down to spin the dial on a blinking black box attached to his bike. As he did so, a shrill siren suddenly boomed throughout the entire neighborhood for a tedious ten seconds before he managed to shut it off.

The others lowered their hands from their ears and glared at him.

"Heh, sorry about that, guys. It's my new anti-theft alarm. Still needs work."

"Let's just go," Stef said, mounting Brand's bike and setting off.

Mikey smiled. He reached inside his jacket pocket and felt the spyglass. Maybe his friends didn't know it yet, but he knew that they were off on a new adventure.

Atop the hill overlooking the Goon Docks sat a black van. The short, balding Torbett sat in the driver's seat looking though a pair of binoculars. He grinned.

"That's it, Ed," he squeaked. "That's Walsh's house."

Garofalo, who sat beside him, raised a large Magnum revolver and pulled back the hammer. He savored the click of the cylinder, and fiercely stared at the house before them.

_"Let's go."_


	4. Chapter 3: A Coveted Treasure

**Chapter 3: A Coveted Treasure**

"Brand, I've been thinking," said Andy.

"About what?" he asked.

"Ever since we got together, we spend all our time with each other. And all the time we spend together we just spend making out."

Brand smiled. "What's wrong with that?"

She slapped him on the chest.

"C'mon, Brand," she said with a smile. "Stef's my best friend and I've barely spent anytime with her lately. And I think your brother misses you."

Brand sighed. "I know. I guess I have kinda been ignoring him lately. I just love being with you though. You're the most incredible person I've ever met."

Andy's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Well, yeah," said Brand. "I mean, you're sweet, you're beautiful, you're clever. And you're so much fun to be with."

Andy was beaming to the point of being blinding.

"And I… I think I…." he said.

"…Brand?"

Brand took a deep breath. He'd been wanting to say it for a long time, but had never worked up the nerve. But finally, he was going to say it. He looked into her eyes.

"Andy, I l…"

A loud crashed echoed from the back of the house. Brand spun around to face the noise while Andy latched onto his arm.

"What was that?" she whispered.

"I don't know."

They heard another crash, and what sounded like something heavy falling over. Brand shot up.

"Where are you going?" Andy asked in a shaky voice.

"I gotta see what it is." Brand marched out of the room, fists clenched.

"No, Brand…" Andy stammered as she tried to keep her grip on him.

Brand stepped out of the rec room and into the living room with Andy close behind him. She jumped as they both heard a small tumble coming from the hallway. She stared at Brand, her green eyes filled with terror. Brand put on the bravest face he could muster, and began creeping down the hallway. He inched towards the door of his parents bedroom and reached for the knob.

An eruption of splinters filled the air as the door flew open with a terrible rattle. Brand jumped back, but before he could register what had happened he felt a fist slam into his jaw, and he collided with the floor. Andy covered her mouth and shrieked. Before she could run to his side, two meaty arms wrapped around her and held her fast.

In the doorway of the Walsh's bedroom appeared a bearded, dark gray haired man. He wore a long gray trench coat and had a deep scar on his left cheek. He smiled wickedly down at Brand as he produced his sharp, prosthetic hook.

"Hello, there."

Several more thugs charged out from behind him to feast upon the house. Among them were a brawny, beefy lipped giant carrying a long iron chain, and a tall, thin bearded youth in a black leather coat with a patch over his eye. Finally came a little, balding, crooked nosed man with a handful of other thugs that joined the fray. They threw open doors, dressers, and cabinets, spilling all their contents onto the floor and rifling through them. The beefy lipped brute filled his mouth with whipped cream while the man with the eye patch began doing reps on Brand's chin up bar.

A hairy faced ruffian in a ski cap held Andy while a blonde haired punk with a lip ring dragged Brand to his feet. Brand shook away his daze and watched in horror as the strangers destroyed his house.

Edward Garofalo turned to face Brand.

"You are the son of Irving Walsh," he said. "Am I wrong in that assumption?"

Brand glared at the man with utter hatred. "What do you want?"

Garofalo smiled. "Right to the point. I like that."

The one eyed man strutted about the living room in a casual manner amidst all the chaos, as if all of this were nothing out of the ordinary. As his eye fell on Andy, he smiled. He reached out to caress her chin and she wrenched her face from him in disgust.

"Don't touch her!" Brand snapped.

With the grin never leaving his face, the one eyed thug strode over to Brand and drove his fist into his gut. Andy squealed as Brand collapsed, and his attacker chuckled. As he we walked past Andy again, he gently fondled her red hair and winked. At least she assumed it was a wink, it was hard to tell. Either way, she scowled at him, and turned to see Brand being hauled to his feet by the lip ringed punk.

"Don't mind my nephew," said Garofalo. "Wesley's just a little… aggressive."

When Brand had caught his breath, he looked up to see Garofalo staring him straight in the eye.

"I know your Walsh's son. Brandon_,_ by the looks of you. I am Edward Garofalo." He glanced over at Andy. "And I really don't care who _you_ are."

"Then let her go!" Brand shouted.

Garofalo stepped towards Andy.

"That can be done, as long as you cooperate. But if you don't…" He slowly raised his hook and pressed it to Andy's throat. "I'll stain her dress red."

Brand grimaced. "If you hurt her, I'll make you suffer!"

Garofalo could tell he meant it. He couldn't help but smirk as he tread back towards Brand. He placed the point of his hook on Brand's neck where it met the shoulder. Brand tightened his face, struggling not to wince as Garofalo began to press. As soon as a red drop appeared, Garofalo stayed his hand.

"Only one of us will suffer, Brandon. And it won't be me."

Garofalo brought his face close to Brand's, until the man's horrible breath filled his nostrils.

"Where is the spyglass?" he whispered.

Brand furrowed his brow. "The what?"

Garofalo stiffened his lip. He jabbed down on Brand's neck just hard enough to make him yelp. Garofalo's stare was suddenly much more frightening.

"The Golden Spyglass of Joseph Acland."

Brand racked his brain. He had never heard of Joseph Acland nor of any golden spyglass of his. But he did remember something that had fallen out of his brother's jacket earlier that afternoon. He shut his eyes.

"I have no idea what your talking about."

Garofalo's face twisted in anger, he raised his hook to plunge it into Brand's neck.

"Wait, Ed!" shouted the balding man with the crooked nose.

Garofalo stayed his hand. "What is it, Torbett?"

"His brother Michael. Perhaps he'll talk."

Garofalo turned to two of his cronies. "If he's here, find him."

The two thugs stormed off through the house, violently dissecting any conceivable hiding spot.

Garofalo looked at Brand, so did everyone else in the room. Andy quivered. The beefy lipped man looked anxious. Wesley had a smug look suggesting he was enjoying himself. Torbett just smiled.

"I'm not a heartless man, Brandon," said Garofalo. " So I'm going to give you one chance to tell me where your brother is. After that," he paused. "I am going to make you bleed."

Garofalo stared at him for a long moment. Brand didn't say a word. Garofalo smirked.

"You know, I've got a better idea. Richter!" he shouted.

The beefy lipped brute pressed a hand to a pink ear.

"Oh forgive me," said Garofalo. He turned to Andy with a smile. "Richter has sensitive ears."

Richter stepped forward and began unraveling the iron chain he carried. At the end of it dangled a rusty, sharp-toothed bear trap. Richter smiled as he began what was apparently his favorite activity. Garofalo smiled back and nodded towards Andy.

"I'm going to hit you where it hurts the most, Brandon," said Garofalo.

Richter pried open the jaws and grabbed Andy's hand, forcing it into the trap with his finger on the trigger. Andy fought against Richter's grasp but could only squirm. She sobbed. Richter looked eagerly at Garofalo, waiting for the signal.

"No!" Brand roared. "Let go of her!"

"Where is your brother!?" spat Garofalo. "Tell me now! Or I'm going to make her…" He raised his hook "Like me."

Brand's mind was racing. He had to say something. But if he did, they would find Mikey, and do God knows what to him. Garofalo lifted his hand to signal Richter…

"Ed!" chirped Torbett again, much more excitedly this time. Garofalo shut his eyes and took a deep breath.

"What is it?" he said through clenched teeth.

"I think I found Michael."

Garofalo turned to see Torbett waving him into the kitchen. He pointed at the refrigerator.

_Mom and Dad,_

_Went to the library. Be back later tonight._

_Mike_

Garofalo smiled. "Nice of him to leave a note."

The other thugs erupted with laughter as Brand and Andy exchanged fearful glances. Garofalo approached his nephew.

"Wesley, if you would be so kind as to go down to the library and fetch young Michael for us."

Wesley grinned and dashed out the front door. Garofalo rummaged through the kitchen and found a bottle of red wine. Helping himself to a glass, he reclined in the living room armchair. Outside, the roar of a motorcycle filled the air as Wesley tore off through the dark on his black cruiser.

"Now what, boss?" asked Richter, still holding Andy's hand in the bear trap.

"Now, we wait," he said. Richter groaned and released Andy's hand.

"What about them?" asked Torbett, pointing to their two hostages.

Garafalo smiled. "They'll be our guests."


	5. Chapter 4: Crooked Joe

**Chapter 4: Crooked Joe**

Mikey pedaled as fast as his legs would allow as he sped past the old railroad tracks along the Columbia River. His fellow Goonies had trouble keeping up, and Mouth called after him several times "What's the hurry!"

Mikey looked to the west and smiled. The sky seemed to glow with a certain magic as the last bits of sunlight faded. This night was magic, and he was a part of it.

Taking a hand off his handlebars he reached into his pocket and grabbed the spyglass. He peered through the lens out over the wide mouth of the Colombia. Even in the dark, everything seemed to blaze with wonder. With the wind in his hair, he was a pirate captain on the bow of his ship, leading his crew to fortune and glory.

"Mikey!" he heard Stef's voice call out to him. Mikey looked behind him to see his friends all turning down 10th Street which he had just completely missed. Shaking his head from the clouds he pocketed the spyglass and slammed on his brakes. By the time he'd caught up with them they were already securing their bikes in the rack outside the Astoria Library. Mikey noticed the minimal number of cars out front, and except for his friends, there was only a single bike in the rack.

"Yeah, I'll tell ya, this is the place to be tonight," said Mouth as he produced his comb to fix his wind blown hair.

Chunk was rifling though his pockets looking for change.

"I've only got about 80 cents. Do they have vending machines, I can't remember."

Data began trying to reset his theft alarm while Stef stuck a fresh piece of gum in her mouth. The only person who seemed interested in even entering the library was Mikey.

"C'mon guys, are we gonna go?" he asked.

There was a general murmur of agreement. They all strode up the front steps, except for Chunk who raced up and raised his arms triumphantly like Rocky.

"Hey, Leon Spinks, your pudge is hanging out," Mouth noted as he strode by.

"I'm not Leon Spinks, I'm Rocky," said Chunk as he adjusted his shirt to cover his bulging stomach.

"Who?" asked Mouth, trying not to crack a smile.

"Rocky, the boxer!" shouted Chunk.

"Not sure who you're talkin about."

They swung open the library doors and stepped inside while Chunk continued to explain very loudly who Rocky was, until a shrill hiss made them all jump.

Ms. Bonny, the tyrannical librarian, towered over them with her finger to her lips.

"Oh crap, I forgot Old Lady Bonny would be here," Mikey mumbled to himself.

"What did you say!"

"Nothing sir… uh ma'am!"

She stared them down for a long moment through her spectacles, which reminded Mikey of the eyes of a hungry raptor.

"You kids be quiet," she hissed one last time before returning to her desk.

Once she was well out of earshot, Mouth murmured. "Jeez, what a _dingbat_."

"What's her obsession anyway, its not like we're gonna _bug_ anybody," said Stef, noting the deserted library.

"C'mon guys, let's get grating," said Mikey.

"You mean 'get cracking?'" said Data.

Mikey shot him a nasty look.

"That's what I said."

With that, the Goonies dispersed into the library, searching for any books they could find on the Latin language. Or at least that's what Mikey searched for. Data found a book on steam engines he began thumbing through while Mouth ogled paintings of nude women in a Renaissance art book. Chunk covered his mouth to stifle his giggles as he looked over Mouth's shoulder. Stef pretended to be interested in a William Faulkner novel, then once no one was looking, quickly stashed her gum between the pages.

Mikey felt a twinge of irritation when he noticed that not one of his friends was even attempting to help him search. Then again, they had at least come with him. And its not like he had lead them to the most exciting place on Earth. So Mikey searched by himself, and after a tedious twenty minutes of going down row after row had found nothing on what he was looking for.

"Oh, who am I kidding," he said out loud. Maybe this was a bad idea after all. Mikey was so excited when he found that spyglass. It was the key to a new adventure! He made such a big deal about it to his friends and then took them on an exciting journey to DUH DUH DUN! _The Library!_

Mikey groaned. He couldn't help but be mad at himself for being such a fool. Deciding it was time to leave, Mikey went to search for his friends. He almost didn't notice the book lying on the table as he passed. He halted to stare at the ugly, faded yellow cover, and the equally hideous big brown letters.

_The Language of Latin by Edward C. Mortimer._

As his jaw dropped, Mikey looked up to see that the table had an occupant, whose face was hidden by a disgustingly turquoise book jacket. _The Romance Language by Linda Breckinridge_ it said in a looping, red calligraphy. But once the reader lowered the book, Mikey found he couldn't say the same about them as he could about the jacket.

She had long, raven black hair, hazel eyes, and a tiny beauty mark on her left cheek. She wore a pale pink blouse, dark jeans, and white sneakers. She adjusted her silver, horn-rimmed glasses, which were a little nerdy looking, but Mikey didn't care. The only thing he noticed was how cute she was. She looked familiar, but Mikey couldn't remember where he'd seen her.

She looked up suddenly, her bright hazel eyes meeting his. She smiled. Mikey felt his face go red, and knew he was giving her the same stupid grin he had given Andy earlier.

"Uh… hi," he said.

"Hi," she said in a soft voice, still smiling.

"Uh… so, you… like Latin?" said Mikey as smoothly as his nerves would allow.

"Oh, yeah," she said. "I just love languages, especially the classical ones."

"Really?" came a voice behind Mikey. He spun around to see Mouth combing his hair back.

"Cause y'know, I'm a bit of a language man myself," he said in a very suave manner as he leaned on the table.

"Oh," she said plainly. To Mikey's relief, she didn't look that impressed. She glanced back towards him.

"Don't I know you from somewhere?" she asked with a quizzical look.

"Um…" was all Mikey could say.

"Mrs. Read's class!" she said. "You're that boy who always asks those weird personal questions about historical figures."

Mikey went red again.

"Yeah," he chuckled "That's me."

It was true. Mikey was always more interested in what kings, conquerors, and patriots were like as people rather than pages in the history book.

"You're that new girl?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said, her face turning red. "We just moved here from New Hampshire a few weeks ago. I'm Jacqueline Page, or just "Jackie" as everybody calls me."

"I'm Mike Walsh," said Mikey with a smile. "And isn't Mrs. Read such a…"

"Clark Devereux," Mouth interjected himself. "And if you're new here, I'd be happy to show you around sometime. There's a lot going on this town," he lied.

"Really?" came Stef's voice. "Then why don't you show _me_ what's 'going on?'"

She stepped up next to Mouth, glaring at him. For once in his life, Mouth looked at a loss for words. Jackie gazed at Mikey, and chuckled.

"Hey, Jackie," said Mikey, suddenly remembering. "Since you know a lot about Latin and all, uh, maybe you could read something for me."

He whipped out the spyglass and handed it to her. She held it close, looking intrigued.

"Where did you get this?" she asked with a hint of suspicion.

"It's… uh, family heirloom," he said quickly.

She raised an eyebrow.

"Can you read what it says?" He was trying to change the subject. Jackie examined the telescope closely, mouthing the Latin words as she read them to herself. Stef continued to glare at Mouth while he put on his most innocent face.

Mikey saw Chunk and Data by the drinking fountain. Chunk was trying to see how much water he could fill his mouth with before it exploded while Data began taking the fountain apart to examine the plumbing. Mikey waved them over.

Jackie continued to study the spyglass, and once all the Goonies had gathered around, she began to translate the writing on it.

_By the Fires of the Morning Light_

_The Beacon it doth blaze,_

_Towards the westward bright_

_Through the Eye of Acland gaze_

_The Black Rock on high sheds tears_

_The White Wall cascades down,_

_Where Acland's Lantern flares_

_Guarding the Sovereign's Crown_

All was silent. Mikey and each of his friends were all lost in their own thoughts. Jackie continued to look at them with disbelief.

"The Eye of Acland," said Data.

"The Black Rock?" asked Stef.

"The Sovereign's Crown…" uttered Mikey.

They all strived to make sense of what Jackie had read to them. What did it all mean? Each of them heard a motorcycle rev out in the street, but paid it little mind.

_Acland_. Mikey had heard that name before, but where? Mikey's heart was pounding. He _knew_ that spyglass was something special! Just like Willy's map.

Willy?

"One-Eyed Willy!" Mikey didn't mean to yell, but that's how it had come out.

"_Ssssssshhhhhhh!_" came a sinister hiss from the reference desk.

"Sorry, Ms. Bonny," he called to the librarian.

Everyone else, including Jackie, looked at Mikey as if he had just grown a second head.

"Joseph Acland," Mikey said to his friends. This didn't explain much as they all stared at him even more confused.

"Here, I'll show you," he said finally. Mikey raced to one of the rows near the back and grabbed a large, black leather book that was several decades old. It was a book he had read through many times before, one that he grabbed almost every time he came to the library. He dropped the tome on the table they surrounded next to Jackie's various Latin books. The gold letters on the cover shimmered.

_The Golden Age of Piracy_

Mikey cracked open the spine and turned the yellow pages to one of the first chapters: _Princes of the Sea._ Amidst the adventures of Richard Hawkins and Henry Morgan, Mikey found a brief page on a lesser known pirate of the time. He read aloud the exploits of Joseph Acland.

_Acland was an Englishman born around 1625, and undertook a piratical career at a young age. He served as a cabin boy under the famous William B. Pordobel, better known as One-Eyed Willy. Supposedly, it was the captain himself who gave Acland his famous limp, for which his fellows nicknamed him "Crooked Joe." _

_He is the only member of Pordobel's crew to be documented after the captain's disappearance. The only explanation he's known to have given about the fate of his companions is a fantastic tale of secret caves, buried treasure, and high adventure._

_Acland went on to forge his own pirate crew, and plundered well over one hundred ships during his career. He is said to be one the first "gentlemen pirates," both for his love of high class delicacies, such as preferring fine wine over rum, and his merciful treatment of his prisoners. He was also a student of chemistry and was fascinated by optical illusions._

_To this day however, no one is certain what became of Crooked Joe Acland. Some say his ship was lost at sea with all hands, others say he disappeared while searching for the wealth of his former captain. Still others say he simply retired to Tortuga and lived the rest of his life in wealth and obscurity. Whatever his fate, one thing is certain. Joseph Acland was a great adventurer, who paved the way for a Golden Age._

As Mikey finished, he turned the page to see a large illustration. A tall, dashing man stood on a cliff face over a roaring ocean. His long hair was tied back in a ponytail and his handsome face grinned. He wore a long flowing coat that flapped in the wind, and at his belt hung a bell guard cutlass and flintlock pistol. Knee high black boots clad his long legs, the left of which twisted at an odd, unnatural angle. In the background, atop the mountainous waves, was a great galleon, its sails pregnant with the strong wind. It instantly reminded Mikey of the golden relief on the box he found the spyglass in. As Mikey thought of this, he noticed a spyglass clutched in the man's hand.

"Hey, what's that thing?" said Chunk as he pointed to something around Acland's neck. Mikey looked close, but couldn't quite make it out.

"Hey, Stef," he said. "Let me see your glasses."

Before Stef could even respond, Mouth snatched them from her nose and handed them to Mikey. Mikey didn't notice, so he just took them and said "Thanks." He brought the glass close to the page and focused them like a magnifying glass while Stef smacked the back of Mouth's head. Mikey looked hard, and his eyes burst with excitement.

"Look, look!" He could hardly contain himself. He handed the glasses to Mouth who examined what Mikey was referring to.

"Wait a minute, is that…?"

"Yeah," Mikey answered before he could finish.

About Joseph Acland's neck was a copper key in the shape of a skull. The same copper key they had found on the remains of Chester Copperpot. Willy's key.

"That's it, guys!" said Mikey, trembling with exhilaration. "Chunk, remember when I first told you about One-Eyed Willy, you asked me how the map or the story got out if Willy killed all his men?"

Chunk furrowed his brow

"Yeah, but…"

"It was Crooked Joe! He was on the _Inferno_ when it was trapped in the cave! He's the one who escaped with the map, the doubloon, and Willy's key. If it wasn't for him we never would have found the treasure and saved the Goon Docks."

Mikey lifted the spyglass.

"This is _his_ spyglass. _This_ is the Eye of Acland!"

The Goonies smiled. They finally understood what Mikey felt, the magic and the adventure. He was right. Jackie however, looked completely in the dark.

"So wait," she said. "What does all that have to do with a black rock, a white wall, and the… Sovereign's Crown?"

Mikey stiffened his lip in thought.

"I don't know."

Jackie stared hard at Mikey. What had at first been uncertainty and suspicion, now looked like accusation. She pointed at the spyglass again.

"Where did you say you got that?"

"Uh…" Mikey began to mumble something, but before he could finish, they each heard the library doors swing open, and a heavy pair of boots enter.


	6. Chapter 5: Into the Night

**Chapter 5: Into the Night**

"Where did you get that spyglass, Mike?" asked Jackie as she stood up from the table.

"It's uh… a little hard to explain." Mikey whispered.

Jackie glanced at the rest of them with a questioning look. Stef avoided her gaze, Mouth curled his lip, Chunk gave a goofy smile, and Data raised his eyebrows and grinned awkwardly.

"No, no…" stammered Jackie. "Don't tell me you're the ones who…"

"Young man, the library is closing!" they heard Ms. Bonny screech from the front desk. "You need to leave! Young man? Are you listening to me!? Young ma…!"

Ms. Bonny stopped mid-sentence as they each heard a loud thud, a painful moan, and thunderous crash. They froze, each of them holding their breath. Ms. Bonny didn't utter another sound. All was still.

Jackie's eyes grew wide with terror.

"Ms. Bonny?" she called out.

The others erupted with dramatic gestures and low hisses to silence her. No response came from the librarian. All was still. And then they heard it once more. The heavy boots stepped forward.

Mikey was the first to move, the rest quickly followed. They dashed to the back of the library as fast as they dared, striving to remain silent. They hid behind the rear bookshelf and didn't crouch so much as they fell. Mikey was breathing hard and couldn't stop himself until he took a hit from his inhaler.

Chunk was wheezing very loudly, and wore an expression of sheer panic.

"Shut up, Chunk!" Mouth yelled in a whisper.

"Were you guys not listening?" moaned Chunk in a frequency dogs could hear easier than they could. "Some guy just came in and killed Ms. Bonny! Now he's gonna kill _us!_"

"Shut up!" hissed Stef.

Data covered Chunk's mouth to try and stifle his wheezing. It muffled the sound but it was still very audible.

Mouth reached into his back pocket and drew the plumber's wrench he always carried with him. He squeezed it until he knuckled turned white, ready to brain anyone that came near him.

The heavy footsteps drew closer, and Mikey heard a noise. Something he had heard before, that went through him like a spear of ice. The click of a gun hammer.

Mikey turned to his friends. They were terrified. Jackie looked at him with tears glistening in her eyes. He stole a glance over his shoulder and quickly moved some books aside. Through the shelf, he saw a man striding down the center aisle. A tall, slim youth in a black leather coat with an eyepatch. In his hand was a silver revolver. Mikey was afraid to move lest he draw his attention.

The one eyed man looked like he was searching for something, but was determined to enjoy himself every step of the way. He twirled his revolver on his finger like an old west gunslinger and paused to explore an aisle. Mikey took the chance to look back at his friends.

"This guy means business." he murmured.

"Well, what the hell does he want?" Stef whispered angrily.

"I don't know, but we gotta get outta here!"

"In case you haven't noticed, Mike, we got nowhere to go. He's blocking our only exit." Mouth bluntly pointed out.

"Well, I don't…" Mikey groaned. He didn't know what to do, and nothing was coming to him.

The footsteps grew louder now, and they knew their stalker was in the row directly behind them. None of them dared to whisper, or even move.

The footsteps halted, and waited. Data suddenly began to examine the bookshelf that separated them from the stranger. He studied it up and down, and put his hands on the base. It looked to Mikey like he was doing an architectural sound of it.

The stranger took another step forward, waiting, listening. Data waved his arms to get the attention of the others. He held up three fingers then made a shove like motion towards the bookshelf. Chunk looked as though he was about to vomit, and shook his head. Stef put her hand to her forehead as if trying to massage away a migraine.

Mikey knew it wouldn't work but he didn't have a better idea. He positioned himself facing the shelf, and squatted so he could put his full weight into it. Mouth saw Mikey and Data, and reluctantly pocketed his wrench to move to do the same. The others did as well, and Data raised his fingers again.

_Three_. The boots took another step forward. _Two_. He sensed something behind the shelf. _One. _The stranger raised his revolver. _NOW!_

In a mad dash, all six of them threw themselves at the shelf. And much quicker than they expected, it's massive weight sent it toppling over. The stranger stabbed his gun towards them but couldn't get a shot off before he was buried under an avalanche of books.

The shelf collapsed on the mound that covered him, and the Goonies shot towards the front door. As they raced past the reference desk, Mikey turned to see Ms. Bonny lying in a heap on the floor, a large bruise on her forehead. Mikey knelt down beside her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Ms. Bonny?" he whispered. To Mikey's great relief, she moaned, and began to shake her head.

"Is she okay?" said a cracking voice.

Mikey looked over his shoulder to see Jackie standing behind him.

"I think so." said Mikey quickly.

Both of them jumped when they heard a commotion from the heap of books. Mikey turned to see the pile shifting as an angry hand reached out.

"Time to leave!" declared Mikey as he shot up, grabbed Jackie's hand and made for the exit. They sprinted down the front steps and hastily mounted their bikes.

"Who _is_ that guy!?" shouted Data.

"What does it matter, let's just get out of here!" yelled Stef.

Not waiting for their pursuer to compose himself, each of them darted off heading south. They didn't know where they were going, they just had to get away from the library. Away from the man with the gun.

Inside, Wesley Garofalo snarled with rage as he pushed away the shelf and mountain of books that covered him. He staggered to his feet and winced as he felt the sting of many bruises. He was no longer enjoying himself. His uncle wanted Michael alive. Wesley could manage that well enough, but he had said nothing about the others. He would deal with them in his own way.

Wesley took up his gun and marched out the front doors, grunting with each step. He mounted his Harley, ignited the engine, and tore off into the night.

Mikey heard the motorcycle's roar charging towards them.

"He's comin after us!" squealed Chunk, who was already red in the face and looked as if his lungs were about to burst.

"Pedal faster!" called Mouth.

Indeed, each of them pedaled until their legs screamed. But Data, being the smallest, couldn't keep up.

"Data, come on!" Mouth shouted to him.

"I'm trying!" Data yelled. He pedaled for his life, but his legs weren't strong enough to keep pace with the rest.

Wesley glared at the whelps who thought they could escape him. He throttled forward and bore down upon his prey.

Data turned to see Wesley just a few yards behind him. Yelling in terror, he tried to pedal harder, but him and Wesley were almost neck and neck. Data looked into the man's cold dark eye, and he scowled back. He reached inside his jacket, produced his revolver, and pointed it directly at Data's head. He cocked the hammer…

"_Bike Boosters!_" Data shouted, yanking a ripcord near his back tire.

Several matches sparked along the axle, lighting the fuses to at least twenty bottle rockets he had strapped to it. The rockets ignited instantly sending showers of sparks behind him, and launching him forward at tremendous speed. The burning embers rained down on Wesley, singeing his face and jacket. He barked with pain and he tried to shield himself. Meanwhile, his bike wobbled and screeched to a halt.

Data raised his fist triumphantly as he blasted towards his friends. They roared with laughter, mostly from relief, and cheered him on. Even Jackie. Data slowed as his "boosters" burnt out, but they were well ahead of their pursuer now.

Wesley caught himself, wiped the sweat from his stinging face, and glared after them. He was through playing. He raised his gun, aimed it at the fleeing Goonies, and fired.

Their fleeting mirth was silenced as the bamg of a gunshot filled the night, and they heard the sing of a bullet soar past them. This was serious.

"This way!" Mikey shouted as he turned his bike west down Irving Avenue. The others followed as they heard Wesley kick his motorcycle back to life. He was far behind them now, but none of them slowed down. They turned south on 8th Street, and west again on Lexington Avenue, bordering the woods. Mikey looked behind him and saw their pursuer drawing closer. Up ahead was a dirt path leading into the shadows of the trees.

"C'mon, we'll lose him in the woods!" Mikey shouted as he raced into the darkness. The others seemed reluctant to follow him, but there was a chance it could work.

Mikey's bike rattled beneath him on the hard path and tree limbs whipped his face, but he refused to slow down. The others trudged along behind him, deeper and deeper into the dark.

Wesley came upon the dirt path, but didn't follow. His face twisted into a wicked grin, and he shot down Lexington at top speed.

The Goonies came to a small cross roads in the forest as two dirt paths intersected. Mikey gently squeezed his breaks and slowed to a halt. He had to catch himself from falling off his bike as his whole body nearly collapsed beneath him. Taking deeper gulps of breath then he ever remembered having to take, he was forced to take another hit from his inhaler.

His friends weren't much better off as they crumbled next to their bikes. Jackie had her eyes shut tight as she gripped her chest, and Chunk looked like he was again trying to choke back the urge to throw up.

Mouth's face was soaked with sweat, and through deep gasps of air he asked

"Uh… did we… ugh… lose him…?"

"I… think…so…" panted Mikey.

"What are we… _guh_… gonna do?" asked Data. "This guy's… crazy!"

"We just… have to…" A buzz in the distance silenced Mikey. Speeding towards them down the intersecting path was a bright headlight, and the sound of a Harley's engine.

"He's coming back!" Mikey roared. The others shot up, and amidst their fearful cries, scrambled to mount their bikes. Where they found the energy to do so, none of them knew, but the chase wasn't over.

As the others shot forward down the path, Mikey stumbled over his bike and was the last to get underway. As he crossed the dirt road, he turned to see the vengeful face of Wesley Garafalo bearing down upon him.

Wesley's hand lurched forward, violently clawing at the boy. He grabbed a handful of denim and wrenched Mikey from his bike.

"Mikey!" his friends shouted as they turned to see their pursuer grab hold of him. He was dragged a short distance down the path before Wesley lost his grip. Mikey hit the dirt hard and felt a rock scrape his forehead. In the distance he heard the motorcycle screech as it tried to break.

Dazed, aching, and blinded by clouds of dust, Mikey tried to stand up, then suddenly felt the blast of the Harley's bright headlight upon him. Prying one eye open, he saw his attacker through the white abyss sitting on his bike and staring him down. His lips curled in a satisfactory grin as he revved his engine.

Mikey lost his breath. For the first time he could remember, he felt sheer panic choking him. The stranger stood before him fully prepared to run him down. Then a bright glint caught Mikey's eye.

On the path before him, where it had fallen amidst the chaos, was the golden spyglass.

Daring a look back towards Wesley, he could see his single dark eye upon it as well, glowing greedily. Did he know what it was?

Not waiting for the stranger's reaction, Mikey dashed forth like an Olympic sprinter. Wesley was slow to respond as he could barely pull his gaze from the treasure he sought lying directly before him. When he saw Mikey racing for it, he gunned his engine.

Mikey saw him charging forward. He lowered his hand, the stranger lowered his. Mikey's fingers stabbed the ground, taking up the spyglass and a wad of dirt. As the motorcycle screamed towards him, he dove off the path and into the woods.

Wesley howled as Mikey flew out of his reach. His one eye locked on to him as he sped past, realizing too late he should have been watching the road ahead. Wesley turned back just in time see his bike jump a large rock and plunge into the trees.

"Mikey!" he heard Mouth's voice call out to him. "Where are you?"

Mikey lurched out of the brush, bruised, dirty, and haggard, but triumphant. Each of his companions came running down the path towards him.

"What happened?" asked Jackie out of breath.

Mikey held up the spyglass.

"It's this, guys." he told them. "This is what he w…" A loud gunshot cut him off as bits of bark erupted off the tree behind him. Wesley stood menacingly against the darkness, gun in hand.

Not waiting to let Mikey finish, each of them ducked their heads and sprinted towards their bikes. Jumping on them, they fled down the path, more desperate than ever to escape the stranger.

Wesley's little accident was enough to give the Goonies a chance to put some distance between him and them. They emerged from the woods back onto Irving Avenue.

"C'mon," Mikey shouted. "Let's head for the bridge."

He figured they might stand a better chance away from the city, where their pursuer couldn't find them.

Mikey lead the way and the others followed. Each of them was stiff, sore, and exhausted, but none of them stopped pedaling. At last, they came to the Youngs Bay Bridge.

As they began to cross, they relaxed their furious pedaling and allowed themselves to drift more. Chunk however, seemed ready to stop all together.

"C'mon Chunk, we're not home free yet." Mikey called to him.

"Mikey, we left him in a ditch. We _had_ to have lost him by now." said Chunk. "'Sides, if I keep going, I'm gonna throw up everything I ever ate."

"Might do you some good." said Mouth.

"_Shut up_ you two!" hissed Stef. "We're out of this when we're out of this! We don't stop until then."

The bridge's only other traveler was a large, flatbed, fully loaded lumber truck snailing up behind them. It blasted its horn for them to move.

As they scurried out of its path, Jackie, who had thus far tagged along behind them out of blind fear, suddenly seemed to gather her wits.

"What… What have you guys gotten me into?" she demanded.

"If we knew, we'd tell you." said Mouth plainly.

Jackie was about to say something else when they all heard the chilling sound once more. They heard it blazing down the road far behind them, and onto the bridge.

"He's back," said Stef quietly.

And sure enough, a single headlight charged towards them like a hungry monster.

The Goonies began to pedal despite the protests of their aching muscles. They knew it was futile. They could never reach the far side of the bridge before their pursuer was upon them.

"What's _with_ this guy!?" shouted Data.

"You said he wants the telescope thing, Mikey." called Chunk. "Just give it to im!"

Mikey reached inside his pocket and grabbed the spyglass. Should he just give it to him? Would it save him and his friends? Was it that simple?

Mikey looked behind him and saw the face of Wesley Garofalo, twisted in the feral rage of a wounded animal.

No, thought Mikey, it wasn't that simple. If there was one thing he learned from the Fratellis, it was that men like that are anything but honorable. They had to escape him, once and for all. But how?

"Mikey!" shouted Mouth as he sidled up next to him. "Give _me_ the spyglass!"

Mikey complied, but still asked "Why?"

"I've got an idea." said Mouth.

Mouth began to slow down, allowing Wesley to catch up to him.

"Mouth? What are you doing?" Stef called to him.

"Hey, Cyclops!" Mouth shouted at their pursuer. "Look what I got!"

Mouth held up the spyglass in the glow of Wesley's headlight, allowing it to shimmer.

"You want it? Come and get it!"

Wesley leered at Mouth, and accepted his challenge. He throttled forward.

Mouth swore as the stranger came down upon him much faster than he had expected.

"_Clark!_" Stef screamed hysterically.

The others raced past the hulking lumber truck as Mouth struggled to catch up, Wesley hot on his heels.

Mouth closed in tight to the truck's right side, quickly tucking the spyglass in his back pocket, exchanging it for his wrench.

With a desperate fury, Mouth hammered at the hook that chained down the timber. A satisfying _slam_ broke it away, and Mouth pedaled forward to strike the next one. Wesley stalked up next to Mouth, his hand outstretched.

With a loud clatter the hook fell to the street, and the great pile of wood groaned ominously.

"_Hey_, what the hell are you doing!?" came an angry voice from the driver's seat of the truck.

Wesley lunged forward to grab Mouth, but caught only air as Mouth slammed on his breaks. Above Wesley, the timber rocked and thundered as it all came plummeting towards him. His single eye widened as he swerved his bike, but he couldn't dodge the crumbling mountain of wood. As the gigantic timbers crashed into him, both Wesley and his bike were thrown into Youngs Bay.

The lumber truck screeched to a halt, and Mouth ignored the driver's violent protests as he sped past him. The other Goonies slowed to allow him to catch up, overcome with shock and awe at what Mouth had done.

"Hey Mouth, good job man!" said Data slapping him on the back.

"Yeah dude, that was _awesome!_" squealed Chunk.

Even Jackie looked impressed. Stef however, looked completely furious. Pedaling up next to Mouth, she punched him hard in the arm.

"Don't you _ever_ do that again!" she barked.

Mouth glared at her, but once she turned away, couldn't help but smirk.

Mikey looked towards the rough waters of the bay where a few fallen timbers floated. There was no sign of their pursuer. Mikey wondered fleetingly if he was alright, but considering he had tried to murder both him and his friends, he wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

He felt a chill in the darkness. His muscles cramped and his forehead stung, but he pedaled on. Somewhere in the night, there was someone who wanted the spyglass they possessed, and they were willing to kill for it. And if this man failed, then others would come.

Mikey looked at his friends, who finally looked ready to stop and rest after such an ordeal. But they couldn't, not yet.

"C'mon guys," he said softly. "We have to keep going."

And so the Goonies rode onward, across the bridge, and into the dark woods. Into the night.


	7. Chapter 6: The Ultimatum

**Chapter 6: The Ultimatum**

The light of the moon lit their way as the Goonies rode into the forest. They had no plan, no destination, no idea at all of what to do. All they knew was that they were not safe.

Mikey could think only of his brother. He looked at his friends, each of whom looked sore and exhausted, but they soldiered on with him. They needed to rest.

"C'mon guys," he said. "I think there's a gas station up ahead. We can stop there."

Fortunately, Mikey was correct. A small, red roofed station that looked a few decades out of place appeared on the side of the road.

"Alright!" said Chunk. "They better have some microwave pizzas, cause I'm _starvin_."

The plate glass windows were completely dark, and as they rode closer, they noted the large yellow condemned sign on the front door.

"Oh, _come on!_" said Mouth. "They couldn't condemn this place tomorrow!"

"It's probably been condemned a while," said Stef. "It looks a little past its prime."

"Well, I don't care!" Mouth yelled. "If there's even a _remote_ chance this place has a working toilet, I'm getting in there!"

Mouth marched towards the front door, wrench in hand, and smashed the corner of glass near the knob.

"What are you doing, Mouth! You're breaking and entering." shouted Data.

"The place is just gonna be torn down anyway, what does it matter?" Mouth replied.

He reached through the broken glass and unbolted the lock. Creaking open the rusty door, they headed inside. All except Mikey and Jackie. Both stood quietly, lost in their own thoughts.

Mikey noticed a pay phone mounted on the wall of the station and raced towards it. Flicking the cradle a few times, he was incredibly relieved there was still a dial tone. After dropping a coin and punching in his home number, he turned to see Jackie standing in the moon light.

She looked overwhelmed, sad, and fearful all at once. Mikey understood why. A man with a gun had chased her through the night and could have killed her. As terrifying as it was for Mikey and his friends, they had at least been in that situation before, and had had each other. Jackie was among strangers. It all seemed like it was too much for her to bear.

Mikey felt a twinge of guilt. After all, he was the one who had wanted this adventure so badly. And now Jackie was wrapped up in it. She didn't deserve this.

He wanted to say something to her, some words of comfort, but then he heard the phone connect and begin to ring. It was then his friends began to immerge from the station.

"Hey, it's not so bad in there, Mikey," Chunk called it to him, rifling through a dusty bag of potato chips. "We found some vending machines, and the food's only a _little_ stale."

"Yeah," said Mouth, zipping up his pants with a disgruntled look. "But that bathroom is definitely not up to code."

Mikey hissed them all quiet as he heard the phone pick up on the other end.

"Brand, it's Mikey," he said. "Are you guys okay?"

"_Michael Walsh_," came a deep, chilling voice over the phone. A voice Mikey had never heard before in his life. He froze, unable to breath. Whoever these people were, they had gotten to his house, and possibly to his family.

"Who is this?" he demanded. "Where's Brand? Let me speak to him _now!_"

"You will speak with me," said the voice.

Mikey's friends saw there was something wrong, and gathered around him.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Edward Garofalo. And your family possesses something I want."

Mikey scowled.

"The spyglass."

He heard Garofalo chuckle.

"Exactly. _Where is it?_"

"I've got it. Let Brand go and it's yours."

"I'm afraid it won't be that simple," said Garofalo. "Now that the spyglass is in your possession, I have a much better idea."

"What are you getting at!" snapped Michael. "Where's Brand?"

"The spyglass itself is of little value to me," said Garofalo. "What I want, is what it leads to."

Mikey paused.

"And what is that?"

"I would have thought a great _adventurer_ such as yourself would know."

Mikey furrowed his brow. He looked at his friends. Each of them watched him intently, doubt and fear etched on their faces.

"Yes, Michael. I know all about you and your friends, and the great adventure you had last autumn. Discovering the treasure of One-Eyed Willy, squaring off against the Fratelli Gang, and saving your homes from destruction. Quite impressive. Though I was saddened to hear you did not manage keep the majority of Willy's plunder. But it matters little. Its most valuable piece has yet to be found."

"What piece?" asked Mikey.

"The tale of Willy's treasure, Michael," said Garofalo. "Willy was pursued by the British fleet to the Americas, where he and his crew were trapped inside a cave…"

"I know the story!"

"Yes, I suppose you would. You would also know that one of Willy's crew managed to escape."

"Joseph Acland."

"Very good, Michael. But did you also know that Acland managed to steal a priceless treasure from Willy's horde."

"What treasure? What are you talking about!"

"Have you not wondered why King Charles I was so obsessed with finding Willy that he would send an entire fleet after him? Willy had stolen something far greater than any man could dream. The Crown of Alfred the Great. Worn for centuries by the English monarchs, thought destroyed by Oliver Cromwell during the English Civil War. _The Sovereign's Crown_."

Whatever fabulous treasure Acland had stolen, Mikey didn't care.

"What does any of this have to do with anything? Where's my brother!"

"You're brother and Ms. Carmichael are safe… for now."

Mikey felt a lump of panic in his throat. He took a deep breath, and asked "What do you want from me?"

"You're Michael Walsh, the great treasure hunter!" Garofalo yelled with mockery. "Follow the spyglass, find the crown, and bring it to the harbor. If you go to the police, or discover you haven't the belly for it, I will strap an anchor to your brother and his girlfriend and send them to the black depths. You have twenty-four hours."

And all to suddenly, Mikey was met with the dial tone he'd been so grateful to hear. But this time it brought only fear.

Mikey hung up the phone, and hung his head.

"What happened?" asked Data.

"Where's Brand and Andy?" said Stef.

"They've got them," Mikey muttered.

"Who are _they_!" shouted Mouth.

"I don't know!" yelled Mikey. "I don't know who _any_ of these people are! But we've got one day to find the Sovereign's Crown or they're going to kill Brand and Andy!"

Stef covered her mouth and dropped her gaze to the ground. Mouth and Data exchanged nervous glances. Chunk looked ready to cry. Jackie just stood still, breathing heavily.

"This is unbelievable," choked Stef.

"What are we going to do?" Mouth whispered.

"What _can_ we do?" said Data.

Mikey stiffened his lip. "The crown. That's what he wants."

"No," said Jackie, a tear streaming down her cheek. "I can't be a part of this. I won't."

Without a second glance, Jackie turned from them and darted towards her bike. With a quivering foot, she lifted the kick stand and walked her bike down the road. The rest of them were so overcome with shock they hardly seemed to notice. All except Mikey.

"Jackie, wait!" he called after her.

She pretended not to hear him and trudged onward. Mikey ran up beside her, his fists clenched.

"Jackie, don't do this! Don't just leave us here like this."

"Why shouldn't I!" she snapped. "You stole that damn spyglass from the museum and wound up crossing the wrong people! Why should I do anything to help you?"

"I didn't steal anything! All I know is some psycho has my brother and my friend and he's going to kill them unless we do something!"

"What can you possibly do?" she grimaced.

Mikey gave her a hard stare. "I'm going to find the crown."

Jackie slowed to a halt. Her expression changed from angry to almost pitying.

"Mikey," she sighed. "That crown could be anywhere. And that's if it even exists."

"I _will_ find it," said Mikey. "But I can't do it alone, Jackie. Me and my friends, we need your help. You're smart, you know things we don't… we need you."

There was a long silence between them. Jackie's face softened, and she looked Mikey up and down.

"This is all so crazy," she said in a low voice. "Just a few hours ago I was home playing with my cat and listening to my grandma complain about adult diapers. Now I'm in the middle of God knows where on a treasure hunt!"

Mikey couldn't help but smile."

"And I don't even know you people!" she a little louder.

"Well, let's change that," said Mikey. "We're the Goonies."

Jackie raised an eyebrow. "The what?"

Mouth, Data, Chunk, and Stef appeared behind them. Each of them looking exhausted, but holding their heads high.

"So what now, Mikey?" asked Mouth. "What do we do?"

"We have to help Brand and Andy," said Stef. "And if doing that means playing this bastard's game, then so be it. So what's the plan?"

Mikey blinked. "You mean you guys are with me on this?"

"Of course, Mikey," said Data. "What kinda friends would we be if we didn't"

"Through Heaven, and Hell, and Nuclear War," said Chunk. "We're with ya Mike."

Mikey's face lit up as he looked at his friends. He knew in the back of his mind that they would stick with him no matter what, but hearing them say it brought his spirits up tremendously. And with his friends beside him, he knew that they would save Brand and Andy.

Jackie smiled at him. "So what's the plan?"

Mikey raised his hand to rub his temple. He tried to focus on a strategy, a course of action, anything. But all he could feel was worry for his brother, and a burning hatred for Edward Garofalo. He'd been given an ultimatum, and had no choice. He would answer the call to adventure. Mikey gave a hard, determined look to everyone that surrounded him.

"We find the Sovereign's Crown."


	8. Chapter 7: Goliath

**Chapter 7: Goliath**

Brand sat slumped against the wall in the dark, hall closet. The cut in his neck bled, his jaw ached, and his wrists were bound in duct tape. Andy sat next to him, silent and terrified. Brand looked at her. From the light seeping in under the door he could see tears streaming down her face. He inched his way towards her, wishing he could just take her in his arms.

"Hey," he whispered. "It's alright. We'll find a way out of this."

Andy looked into his eyes.

"But what about Mikey? What if they find him?"

"He's a tough kid. I know, I hit him a lot."

Brand was relieved to see her crack a smile.

Out in the living room, Edward Garofalo sat nursing his glass of wine while Torbett loomed over him impatiently.

"Ed, are you crazy?" he chided. "You sent a bunch of snot-nosed brats to find the crown of Alfred the Great! What the hell are you thinking!"

"Relax, Jack." Garofalo growled. "What are you so worried about? That they'll _break_ it?

Torbett glared. "You're risking a lot of money on these stupid kids."

Garofalo cackled. "I think you give them too much credit. Do you actually expect them to find it?"

"Well, apparently you do."

"Of course I don't!" barked Garofalo. "I've simply given them a diversion until Wesley can catch up with them. He'll grab the spyglass, take care of the mess, and we will find the crown ourselves, like we planned."

Torbett didn't look satisfied.

"Well, let's say Wesley _doesn't_ catch up to them. If he fails, what then?"

Garofalo stared off into space for a moment, sucking on a tooth.

"Then," he said calmly. "We'll see how capable these… _Goonies_ really are."

From the hallway came the beefy Richter with two other cronies, dragging Brand and Andy behind them.

"Hey, Boss," said Richter with a nervous quiver. "We should probably get outta here soon."

"He's right." said Torbett. "With all the racket we've been making, someone might get suspicious."

"I suppose so," murmured Garofalo as he downed the last of his wine. He glanced at the two thugs who held his prisoners.

"Take them to the van."

Brand and Andy were thrown like sandbags into the back of Torbett's van. The slamming of the doors made them feel as though they were being sealed in their coffins. Brand glared at Garofalo and Torbett as they got in the front.

"Where are you taking us?" he demanded.

Torbett started the engine.

"Either your prison or your tomb. It's up to your brother."

The four of them rode in silence. Andy rested her head on Brand's chest while his brain churned up possible escape plans. Most of them seemed likely to end with him being shot.

He leered at the back of Garofalo's dark gray head, aching to shove the heel of his shoe into it. He had almost worked up the nerve to do it, when the van came to a halt. Torbett got out and threw open the back door, a gun in his hand.

"Out," he ordered with a smirk.

Brand could see they were at the harbor as Garofalo's thugs grabbed hold of them and tossed them into a motor boat.

"Take us out, Gowan." said Garofalo to the blonde punk with the lip ring.

"Ha ha! The two o' them is in a world of shit now!"

"Shut up, and drive the boat!"

"…sorry." mumbled Gowan as he revved the engine to life.

In the back, Brand and Andy sat still. Torbett still held his gun on them, and Richter clutched his bear trap closely, itching to use it. Garofalo, Brand saw, sat in silence next to Gowan, lost in some dark thought.

The boat moved west, towards the mouth of the Colombia River. As they moved into deeper waters, Brand realized any hope of escape was fading. The fates of Andy and himself were out his hands.

Brand didn't know where they were going, but his fear increased when he saw them leave the mouth of the river, and head straight out for the open Pacific. Brand felt a lump of panic in his throat. They were going to dump them in the ocean and leave them to drown.

His eyes fell on Torbett. If he could just grab hold of his gun. Brand's anxiousness must have shown, because Torbett smiled at him.

"Whatever you're thinking, sonny, I would advise against it," he said with a snicker. "Don't forget, I can always have Richter here remove a few limbs."

Brand glared at the balding little man. "You can't just leave us out here to die!"

"All in good time, Brandon," came Garofalo's cold voice. And that's when Brand saw it.

It sat still on the ocean, a behemoth of shadow under the pale moon. The hull of the beast was over two hundred and fifty feet in length, and its superstructure rose from the stern like the head of a sea monster. Decades worth of rust and dents marred its every surface, making it look well past its time to be scuttled.

As they neared the ship, Brand saw the great black letters branded into her side. _GOLIATH._

The motor boat sidled up next to the ship, and Brand and Andy were forced up the steps of the ladder. On the wet and dirty deck, a crew of thieves and cutthroats scurried about like rats, baying at the return of their master.

Garofalo dragged them below, where they were met with the musty stench of sweat and blood in the tight, dark corridors. As they descended into the bowels of the ship, Brand dared a peek into a chamber where he heard a number of men at work.

He saw them lifting large wooden crates out of hidden compartments in the floor, and prying them open. Carried inside them were enough munitions to fight a small war. Machine guns, sub-machine guns, rifles, automatics, grenades.

"You're smuggling weapons?" he said to Garofalo.

"Very observant, Brandon."

"Top of the line from the Soviet Union," Torbett cut in. It was then Brand noticed the red star marked on the side of each crate.

"How the hell did you get those?" Brand demanded.

Garofalo smirked. "Mr. Torbett there used to do some work for the Government over in Russia, searching for hidden stockpiles of weapons."

"But I got bored with that," said Torbett. "There was no money in espionage. But there was in arms dealing. So I found Captain Garofalo, just dishonorably discharged from the navy. We put a crew together and have been delivering Soviet weapons to the highest bidder ever since."

Brand gave them both an angry grin. "And here I thought we were at the mercy of a group of criminal masterminds. Turns out you're just a bunch of dirty smugglers looking to make a quick buck."

Before Brand knew what hit him, he felt his body jerked forward and Garofalo's breath in his face, his hook in Brand's shirt.

"Smuggling is a petty business, Brandon," he said in a cold whisper. "But necessary to continue our cause."

Garofalo grabbed hold of Brand and thrust him into a small, dim cabin at the end of the corridor with Andy close behind.

"But all that's due for a change. I've spent twenty years searching for the Sovereign's Crown, and now it's within my grasp. You had best hope I have it soon, or the two of you will never leave this ship alive."

Garofalo slammed the cabin door shut and an ominous bolt sounded behind it. They could hear the weasel-like cackle of Torbett echoing in the corridor.

Brand and Andy were alone in their dark tomb.

Brand instantly bit at the tape on his wrists and painfully ripped it off. Next to him, Andy sobbed, and he placed a comforting arm around her.

"It's alright, Andy," he said as steadily as he could, but could think of nothing more to say.

"You heard him, Brand," quivered Andy. "He won't let us go unless Mikey finds that crown."

"Mikey's never let me down before. He'll get us out of this…"

Brand stopped. He looked about the empty room, listening to the lapping of the dark sea beyond the steel walls.

"… I hope."


	9. Chapter 8: The Black Rock

**Chapter 8: The Black Rock**

Seeing the dim red glow of sunlight through his eyelids, Mikey awoke. He felt the hard countertop beneath him, and his jacket wadded up under his head as a pillow. He opened his eyes to see a dirty roof, and felt his stiff muscles and stinging forehead. It took him a moment to remember where he was.

Then he heard Edward Garofalo's cold voice in his head.

So it had all been real. The discovery of the spyglass, their chase through the night, and Brand and Andy's kidnapping. Mikey hoped that it had just been a nightmare. But that didn't matter now, there was work to be done.

Mikey shot up faster than his body liked, and looked around the abandoned gas station. His friends lied scattered about it, still in deep sleep. Mouth slouched against the wall with Stef resting her head on his stomach. Chunk snored dreamily on the floor, several empty bags of potato chips around him, while Data snoozed against the counter. In the back corner was Jackie, curled into a tight ball, her head on her knee.

"Chunk, Data, rise and shine!" Mikey shouted, kicking Chunk in the foot.

"Ugh… Wha…?

Seizing Mouth's shoulder, he shook him awake. "C'mon guys, there's no time to waste."

"Ug… Jeez, are we still here?" said Mouth through a yawn.

Approaching Jackie, Mikey dropped to a knee and gently placed a hand on her back.

"Jackie?" he whispered. "Jackie."

Jackie took a deep breath and opened her eyes. She too seemed to have forgotten where she was for a moment.

Mikey smiled at her. "It's time."

Jackie nodded, without smiling.

As they all rose to their feet, stretching and yawning, Mikey stepped out into the morning air. The sun had just barely crested the horizon.

He gathered his thoughts, trying to work out a strategy, a plan of action. The station door opened and Mouth joined him outside.

"Alright, Mike. So what's the plan?"

"The crown," said Mikey. "We have to find it."

"Good plan, Patton. So where is it?"

"I don't know, Mouth," Mikey snapped. "But we've only got one day, and we have to get started _now_."

"Getting an early start to nowhere still takes you nowhere," said Mouth. "So let's just think a second. Take a deep breath, get the cobwebs outta your head, soak up the morning light."

Mikey's eyes widened. "Morning light?"

"Yeah, dude. Take in some rays, it's good for ya. Nowadays, people are so paranoid about the sun. They think that just five minutes in it is gonna give em…"

"That's it!" Mikey shouted, fumbling around in his pockets.

"What's it?"

Mikey whipped out Crooked Joe's spyglass from his pocket.

"The Fires of the Morning Light! Remember? We have to look west, through the spyglass."

Mikey faced west and raised the telescope to his eye. He saw nothing but woods along the dusty road.

"Wait," said Mouth. "What are you supposed to see?"

"I dunno," said Mikey. "Some kind of beacon. But I need to get higher."

Not wasting a moment, Mikey tore across the street and into the woods, with Mouth in close pursuit.

"Mikey, wait!" he called after him.

Mikey didn't stop to listen as he ripped through the brush, finally skidding to a halt before a towering and ancient oak tree. He smiled.

"Give me a boost, Mouth," he said as he grabbed for the lowest branch. Mouth shrugged his shoulders and made a cradle for Mikey's sneaker.

"Sure hope you know what you're doing."

Mikey clambered up through the limbs and hanging leaves, climbing higher than he knew was safe. Lying on one of the highest branches, he was able to just barely peek over the canopy. He could see the tops of trees swaying gently in the morning air, the arched backs of low hills, and far in the distance, the ocean.

Trembling with eagerness, he raised the spyglass to his eye. He squinted through the distorted sea of color that flashed before him, which sent ghostly waves flowing through the woods.

He searched from one end of the horizon to the next, and amongst the trees on a distant hill, he saw it. A blazing white light, winking at him, beaconing him forth.

"I see it!" he shouted. "I see the beacon."

"Alright!" called Mouth. "We're gettin somewhere."

Mikey's excitement overwhelmed him and made him tremble, and his balance faltered. His back jerked to the side of the branch, his limbs clamping down hard for dear life.

"Whoa," he whispered, the rough bark digging into his skin. Behind him he heard the creaking of wood, and dared a glance backwards. The branch was beginning to break.

"Oh, crap," was all he could mutter before it snapped off, sending him plummeting to the ground.

He sailed through a mesh of leaves and limbs, before landing hard in a weak cradle of limbs ten feet off the ground.

"Mikey!" Mouth shouted. "Uh… don't move."

Mouth's feet darted aimlessly, unsure of what to do. The snapping of twigs filled the woods as the cradle holding Mikey began to sink.

"…Uh, Mouth?" Mikey stammered. The cradle shattered under Mikey's weight, dropping him hard. Mouth braced himself as Mikey came crashing down on top of him, and both of them hit the dirt.

Mouth shoved Mikey off of him, trying to gain back the wind that been knocked out.

"Well," he panted. "That was a great idea."

"At least we know where we're going now."

The two of them dusted themselves off and made their way back towards the gas station. Data was out front, filling up a few empty jugs from a water valve. Stef stood next to him, cutting into a can of peas with her pocket knife. She looked up to see Mikey and Mouth coming from the woods.

"Where were you two? Starting the adventure without us?"

"Nah," said Mouth. "Mikey just wanted to go down on me."

"Shut up, Mouth!"

Stef screwed up her face, but didn't ask any follow up questions.

"Have some breakfast," she said, offering them the can of peas.

"Are you serious?" asked Mouth.

"Hey, it ain't the breakfast of champions, but it's better than nothing."

Mikey let Mouth indulge first, and instead went back inside the station. Chunk was raiding the shelves for any salvageable food items he could find and throwing them into a black garbage back. All the while regaling Jackie with a heroic tale.

"As I rode toward the pillar of black smoke, I saw the entire nursing home up in flames. All the old people were still inside, screaming for help. That's when I knew it was up to me!"

Jackie listened politely, a smile on her lips. She seemed more interested in Chunk's passion for story-telling than the actual story. She came up from behind the counter with a first aid kit, slinging the strap over her shoulder.

"Hey, good idea," said Mikey with a smile.

"My mom's a nurse, so…" her voice trailed off, and a sad looked came to her eyes.

"You ok?" Mikey took a step closer.

"I was just thinking about my parents. They're probably worried to death about me."

"Yeah," said Mikey. "I hadn't really thought about it, but I guess mine are too. Especially since, y'know, this isn't the first time me and my brother have gone missing."

"Well, I don't usually make a habit of it."

Mikey smirked. "Hang with us long enough, and you might."

Jackie's eyes sunk to the floor, and she gave a shy smile.

"… and then I emerged from the flaming wreckage with Mrs. Struthers flung over my shoulder. The entire structure began to… Hey, is anyone listening?" Chunk glared at the two of them. "Now as I was saying…"

"We've heard it all before, Chunk."

Mikey searched beneath the counter for anything else of use, and discovered a large silver flashlight. After several vigorous flicks of the switch, he was able to light it.

"Hey, look at this," said Jackie, picking up a small, black cylinder under the counter.

"What is that?"

Jackie's finger found a button at the top of it. She grinned.

"Pepper spray."

"Uh… that stuff could be dangerous," said Mikey as he reached out and took hold of it. "You'd better let me hang on to it."

Jackie raised an eyebrow. "What, you don't think I'm capable?"

"I uh… just don't want you to hurt yourself."

"I think I can manage, Mike."

"Mikey!" came Mouth's voice from outside, too which Mikey was very grateful.

Stuffing the flashlight and pepper spray in his jacket pocket, he went back outside, Chunk in his wake. Jackie followed more slowly, with her arms crossed and giving Mikey an odd look.

Mouth, Stef, and Data all had jugs of water slung over their shoulders with twine. Mouth was finishing off the can of peas, a disgruntled look on his face.

"So what's up, Mike, where we headed?" he said, forcing himself to swallow the last of the peas.

"I know where we're going. I saw the beacon on a hillside, deep in the woods, towards the coast. I don't know what's out there, but it's the only thing we got."

The others nodded, and prepared to move out. Stef, however, just stood there.

"What if there's nothing out there, Mikey?" she said. "What if we find absolutely nothing?"

"Don't say that!" Data snapped at her. "We gotta believe this crown thing is out there. How else are we gonna help Brand and Andy?"

"There's nothing else we _can_ do," said Mikey. "This Garofalo guy said he would kill them if we went to the police."

Mouth put a hand on Stef's shoulder. "It's the only chance we got."

Stef looked Mouth in the eye, a little taken aback by the surprising sincerity in his voice. She smiled at him.

"Don't wuss out on us now," he quickly added.

Growling, she slapped his hand off her shoulder.

Seeing as there was no way they could ride their bikes through the dense forest, they stashed them inside the station, where they hoped they would remain undisturbed. When they had prepared themselves as best they could, they set out for the beacon on the distant hill.

None of them talked much as they hiked. Each of their minds were drifting off to their own places. Their families, their homes. The danger that awaited them.

Mikey found the quiet calm of the forest comforting. The warm sun streaming through the trees, the singing of the birds, the wind in the leaves. He could almost believe him and his friends were simply on a relaxing walk in the woods. Then he would feel the weight of the spyglass in his pocket, and would set his jaw in determination.

"So, what's so important about this crown anyway?" Mouth said finally.

"No idea," said Mikey. "All I remember is something about some guy called Alfred the Great."

Mikey was met with blank stares and shrugged shoulders by everyone except Jackie.

"I know him," she said, squinting as she tried to remember. "My grandma was raised Catholic, so she talks about him sometimes."

"Was he a saint or something?" Stef asked.

"Sort of, but not really. I think he was one of the really early Kings of England after the Saxons took over." Jackie thought for another minute, and her eyes widened. "It was his crown that became the one worn by all English monarchs. It was the same crown that was taken by William the Conqueror when he invaded England."

"Holy shit," said Mouth. "So why the hell would that be in Astoria and not sitting in Margaret Thatcher's living room?"

"It wouldn't be," said Jackie with a furrowed brow. "It was destroyed by Oliver Cromwell in the English Civil War."

"What year did that happen?" asked Mikey

"Uh… mid 1600's, I think."

"That was around the same time that One-Eyed Willy fled. Maybe the crown wasn't destroyed, maybe everyone just thought it was. Maybe Willy really did steal it. And if _he_ stole it, maybe Crooked Joe stole it from him. Jesus guys, don't you get it? This thing could really be there!"

Mikey's excitement was not shared by his friends.

"If it is, Mike," said Mouth. "Then we're _really_ in some deep shit."

"Hey guys, listen," said Data with his compass in hand. "It sounds like there's a stream over there. And this is right about where Mikey said he saw the beacon."

Mikey darted ahead of the rest of them, cresting a small incline ahead. From out of the cliff on the nearby hill poured a wide, roaring waterfall, feeding a small river. Mikey smiled. It reminded him of a place he might read about in Huck Finn.

"Oh, wow," said Chunk, coming up behind Mikey.

"It's beautiful," said Jackie with a smile.

Mikey looked towards the top of the waterfall, and there he saw it. A large rock, standing in the middle of the rushing torrent, made of black volcanic glass.

"There it is guys!" he shouted, his finger stabbing the air. "The black rock."

Mikey grabbed hold of the spyglass and raised it towards his eye. Under the noon sun, the rock glimmered weakly, but in the morning light, it had been the blazing beacon Mikey had seen.

"So we made it?" said Data. "The crown is here?"

"Maybe," said Mikey. "Look around, there's gotta be a clue or something. Maybe near the waterfall."

While the rest of them fanned out, Chunk made his way downstream towards a calmer spot.

"Water!"

Dumping the garbage bag full of food, he plunged his round face into the river.

Upstream, Mouth waded into the water, taking a close look at the base of the waterfall.

"You don't think it's beneath the waterfall, do you?" he said to Stef.

"Do you wanna swim under there and find out?"

"No way! You do it."

Data pressed himself against the cliff face and inched his way towards the falling water. Tiptoeing across the large rocks, he brought himself right up next to it.

"Hey guys!" he yelled, quivering with excitement. "I see something! I think there's a cave behind the waterfall."

"All right!" Mikey shouted back. Now they were on to something. They just might succeed.

"Wait," said Mikey. "Where's Chunk?"

"He went down there," said Stef. "I'll get him."

Stef made her way downstream while the others gathered by the waterfall. She saw Chunk by the water, gulping huge mouthfuls of it. Then she looked behind him, and her jaw dropped.

"Hey Stef," said Chunk. "I'll tell ya, this adventuring stuff really works up a thirst, y'know. Plus, I hate nature."

"Chunk," said Stef in a horrified whisper.

"What?"

Then he heard it. A low, fearsome growl.

Chunk's face turned a deathly white, and he dared a glance over his shoulder. His nose nearly brushed the big black snout of a monstrous grizzly bear. It stood hunched on all fours, its fur ruffled and skin scratched from some recent battle. Its cold dark eyes were fixed on Chunk, burning with hunger.

"Uhhh… help," he whimpered.

"Chunk, don't… move."

"Uhhhh…."

"Don't… move."

The bear revealed a chaotic mass of fangs, dripping with drool and the blood of its last victim.

"AAAAGGGHHHHH!"

Chunk shot to his feet and bolted up the river, not realizing his fat fist still clung to the bag of food. Forgetting her own advice, Stef ran too, echoing Chunk's scream.

The grizzly loosed a deafaning roar and bounded after his prey.

By the waterfall, Mikey, Mouth, Data, and Jackie turned towards the commotion.

"Hey, what's going…?" Mouth began.

They saw Chunk and Stef come barreling towards them, the great grizzly less than a second behind.

"Holy shit!"

"Get inside! Get inside!" Data screamed.

Mouth, Data, and Jackie dived under the waterfall and into the cave. Stef, not wasting a breath, plunged into the river and swam under it.

The grizzly opened its maw to bite into Chunk.

"Chunk! Drop the food!" shouted Mikey.

Without even thinking about it, Chunk dropped the garbage bag. It slammed on the ground, sending cans spilling across the rocks.

The grizzly grinded to a halt and buried its nose in the black bag. Chunk plowed into Mikey, wrapping his arms around him so tight he squeezed the wind out of him.

"Make it go away! Make it go away!"

"Chunk… let go…" Mikey choked. "Get inside!"

Chunk dropped Mikey and darted under the waterfall. Mikey didn't wait to see what the bear would do, and dove into the cave after his friends.

All of them now stood in the small cave, dripping wet and gasping for air. The roar of the falling water echoed off the walls, drowning out all other sounds.

"Is it gone?" Jackie shouted above the torrent.

"Sshhh," Mikey hissed. "Let's just sit tight until it goes away."

They quietly huddled together, both shivering from the cold and quaking with fear. They stood in silence, looking at each other with bulging eyes.

"Well," said Mouth. "It must be gone by now."

As if it had heard him, the grizzly bear exploded through the waterfall, roaring like a dragon. It swiped its claw toward the group of them. They scattered like ants, their screams filling the cave.

They had nowhere to flee. They pressed themselves together against the back wall of the cave, Mikey in the front. The grizzly's foul breath filled his nostrils as it readied its fangs to sink into him.

Shutting his eyes tight, Mikey was scarcely aware of Jackie's arm around his waist, clinging to him for safety. At least he thought that was why, until he felt her hand fishing in his jacket pocket.

Before the bear could rip into Mikey, Jackie drew the black cylinder of pepper spray. She aimed squarely for the bear's black eye and squeezed the trigger.

A cone of burning white mist consumed the bear's face. Moaning in agony, it shot back from them, its paws beating at its eyes. The grizzly staggered under the waterfall and out of the cave, yelping like a wounded dog.

It took a long moment for any of them to fully register what had just happened. Jackie stood frozen with her arm outstretched, gasping for air.

"Whoa…" said Mouth. "That… was… AWESOME!"

The rest of them jumped at the outburst.

"You were so scared, Chunk! You were like wheezing! That bear was all like RAAAR, and we were all like AAAAHHHH! Stef, the look on your face when he-"

Stef beat her open palm across Mouth's face.

"OW!"

"Are you crazy! We all could have been killed!"

As Mouth and Stef began to squabble, Mikey turned to Jackie.

"Uh… quick thinking," he said with an awkward stutter. "You saved our lives."

"Yeah," said Chunk. "You totally maced a bear. That's pretty cool!"

Jackie smiled, finally lowering her arm. "Somebody has to save us kids. You want this back?"

"No, no! You… you keep it," said Mikey. Jackie gave Mikey a playful slap on the arm as she pocketed the pepper spray.

"Hey look," said Data. "I don't think we're the first ones to find this cave."

Mikey turned to see Data pointing at a faded peace sign sketched on the wall with pink chalk. Beneath it sat the remains of a decades old fire pit.

"All right!" said Mouth. "Looks like some free love happened here!"

"Shut up, Mouth," said Stef.

"So wait, is this it?" asked Jackie. "Is this where the crown is hidden?"

"Could be," said Chunk. "But I think we would have heard about a couple of hippies finding an ancient crown in a cave."

"Come on guys, we've come this far. Don't give up now," said Mikey.

There wasn't much in the cave to explore. It was a single room with no tunnels or offshoots. Besides the fire pit and the graffiti, its only feature was a large flat stone against the back wall. Mikey stooped to take a look at it. Leaning in close, he blew away a patch of dirt. The others gathered around, leaning over his shoulder.

Etched in the rock was a skull and crossbones. Mikey's face could barely contain his smile.

"Drink up me hearties, yo ho!"

Mikey shot to his feet and grabbed the side of the rock.

"Come on guys, help me."

They each took hold of the rock and began to pull. Chunk whimpered, Data panted, and Mouth did his best Schwarzenegger growl. Mikey lifted his feet from the ground and pressed them against the wall of the cave.

"Pull! Puuuuull!"

Like the snap of a gun, the rock fell from the wall, bringing the Goonies down with it. A suffocating blanket of dirt and dust erupted from behind it.

Coughing and sputtering, they wiped the dust from their eyes and climbed to their feet. Mikey took a step forward to see what they had uncovered, and looked into the pitch black maw of a tunnel.


	10. Chapter 9: A Fellow Goony

**Chapter 9: A Fellow Goony**

"Oh Wow," said Data, staring into the black abyss. "A hidden tunnel!"

"So uh… who's goin in first?" asked Mouth.

"I'll go!" said Data, shooting up like a spring.

"Data wait," said Jackie with worry in her eyes. "Maybe we should just think about this for a second."

"Don't worry, you guys, Data's got this covered!" said Data. He fished inside his yellow backpack and pulled out a small lantern. They could hear his voice echo back to them as he darted into the tunnel.

"This is so awesome you guys! It's just like back with One-Eyed Willy!"

Shaking their heads, Mikey, Mouth, and Stef were quick to follow. Chunk looked at Jackie.

"Uh… you first."

Jackie raised an eyebrow. "You don't want to bravely lead the way?"

"Not really."

She gave him a blank look. "Well, alright then."

Jackie stepped into the tunnel with a quaking Chunk close behind.

The tunnel was a tight squeeze. Just wide enough for them to face forward and just high enough for them to walk upright. The walls were ice cold and added an unsettling chill to the air. A stale, musty scent filled the tunnel, as if it hadn't had fresh air for centuries.

"This is really neat, you guys," Data went on, holding his lantern high. "Hey, I think I see something ahead. It looks like- AAAAHHHHH!"

"Data!" yelled Mikey, grabbing hold of Data's arm as he pitched forward. The tunnel went black as Data's lantern fell from his hand, deep into a wide, dark pit.

Mouth reached across Mikey, grabbing Data, and pulled him back from the edge of the pit. Data grasped at them both, taking deep gulps of air.

"Data… Data's okay."

"Jesus, what happened?" shouted Stef.

"The tunnel ends up here in a giant pit," said Mikey. He pulled the silver flashlight from his jacket pocket. Stepping in front of a still pale white Data, he shined it on the cave walls ahead. The tunnel widened into a ledge before the dark chasm, and the six of them gathered together on it.

"There's nothing on the other side," said Mouth with a grumpy sneer. "It just ends at this stupid hole."

Each of them heard a faint whimpering coming from the far end of the ledge. They turned to see Jackie pressed against the wall, her eyes fixed on the dark pit.

"Uh… you okay, Jack?" said Stef.

"I just…" she whispered. "I don't really do heights."

"Yeah, and I don't do dark, creepy places like this," said Chunk. "Let's face it, guys, this is a dead end."

"No Chunk, this can't be it," snapped Mikey. "There's got to be a way…" His flashlight landed on something hanging down from the high ceiling.

"You guys, look."

Mikey pointed to two iron chains hanging side by side, caked with centuries of rust. He followed them with his flashlight to a pulley in the roof of the cave. They both reached deep into the pit beyond the reach of his light.

"That's it," he said. "Crooked Joe must have had some kind of dumbwaiter system hooked up."

"So what are we supposed to do, climb down these chains?" said Stef.

"Well, yeah," said Mikey as he reached for one.

"No way!" spat Chunk.

"If it's gotta be done, it's gotta be done," said Mouth. "And if it's gotta be done, I'll do it."

Mouth reached for the other chain.

"Mouth, that thing is like four hundred years old. It could snap the second you get on it," said Stef.

Mouth stepped up to the edge of the chasm and tugged on the chain.

"Seems okay. Anyway, I-"

Before he could utter another word, the bit of ledge beneath his feet gave way.

"Woah!"

Mouth latched onto the chain, his feet dangling over the bottomless pit beneath him.

"Mouth!" shouted the others.

The chain whined as Mouth swayed back and forth over the blackness like a pendulum.

"Uh, seems ok," Mouth panted as the chain steadied. Inch by inch, he began to make his way down.

"Be careful, Mouth," said Stef, her face etched with worry.

Mikey held fast to the other chain.

"Okay, we should probably go down in pairs to keep the chain steady."

"Alright, I'll go," said Stef taking a deep breath. "This is so insane."

She took the chain in hand. Wrapping her legs around it, she inched her way down.

"Alright Chunk, you and me," said Data.

"Oh no, come on!" said Chunk. "You guys have seen me in Phys Ed. I can't climb a rope to save my life!

"You're not climbing upwards," said Mikey. "Just hang onto it tight and let your weight drag you down."

"Shouldn't be too hard," Mouth called up to them.

"Hey, shut up and focus," said Stef.

Data grabbed one chain and Chunk grabbed the other.

"Wait," said Stef. "Maybe the lightest person shouldn't be paired with the heaviest…"

Data and Chunk leapt from the ledge and swayed out over the pit. The chain trembled but held fast.

"Okay, whatever."

Chunk began to wheeze. "Don't look down. Don't look down."

"C'mon, Chunk," said Data. "Nice and easy, one link at a time."

Mikey turned to Jackie.

"Alright, our turn," he said as softly as he could.

Jackie planted herself as if her feet weighed a thousand pounds.

"I'm not gonna let you fall, I promise," said Mikey.

Her eyes locked onto his.

"You don't understand, this is like literally one of my nightmares come to life," she said.

"Well, it ain't exactly a party for the rest of us."

Jackie couldn't help but smirk.

"You do realize how crazy this is, right?"

Mikey smiled, taking that as compliance. "C'mon, Jackie. You just maced a bear in the face not five minutes ago. This should be no sweat."

Mikey held out his hand. "Come on."

Jackie glanced deep into the gaping pit. She took a deep breath, shut her eyes tight, and took Mikey's hand. Mikey felt his face flush red when she did, and was grateful she had her eyes closed.

He guided her hand to the chain, and squeezed it tight around the cold iron.

"Now hang on tight," he said. "Wrap your whole body around it. We're gonna step off now."

Mikey lead Jackie out into the open air. Jackie gasped for breath as she felt herself dangle above the chasm.

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!"

"Jackie, it's alright, it's alright!" said Mikey. "Just hold on. You're fine. We're gonna make our way down."

"Oh my God! I can't do this, Mikey, I can't do this."

"Sure you can," said Mikey, as he dared to take a hand off his chain and place it on her shoulder. He'd been so distracted by her he'd almost forgotten how terrified he was.

He clasped the chain so tight he could feel his hands begin to cramp. As steadily as he could, he began to snake his way down into the darkness. He placed another reassuring hand on Jackie's shoulder as he went.

"See, you're doing fine. Don't even think about it."

Jackie's quick breathing was getting close to shear panic. Mikey had to do something.

Uh…do you uh… like movies?"

"What?"

"Do you like movies?"

"Well... yeah."

Jackie's breathing began to slow.

"What's your favorite movie?" said Mikey.

"_The Adventures of Don Juan_."

"Oh, I love Errol Flynn movies! Especially _Captain Blood_. I always kinda wanted to be one of those swashbuckler types."

Jackie gave a nervous chuckle. "Wow, imagine that."

"Hey, maybe when all this is over we could go see _Top Gun_ or someth-."

Mikey felt the chain in his hands lurch upwards suddenly, as the chain Jackie clung to dropped a quick foot.

Jackie's shriek filled the chasm as she curled into a tight ball around her chain. The others stiffened their bodies, wide eyed and breathing heavy.

"One side of the chain is dropping," shouted Stef.

"Hey, don't look at me!" said Chunk. "I may be a little overweight, but I'm not some-"

"Shut up a second, guys!" said Mouth. "Let's all just hold still for a sec."

Mouth reached out for the cave wall to steady himself, and felt his hand touch something sticky.

"Ew," he said snapping back. "What is this?"

Stef, watching Mouth, raised an eyebrow. She pressed her palm against the wall. Some wispy material cling to her hand, but she couldn't make out what it was in the darkness.

"Hey Mikey, shine your light down here."

Mikey grumbled as he reached into his pocket for the flashlight, straining to keep his balance. He took it in hand and sent a shaft of light down towards Mouth and Stef.

Stef held her hand up to the light and squinted at the white threads that hung from her fingers.

Mouth's face blanched. He turned back towards the shaft wall. Every inch of it was blanketed in the sticky, white thread.

"Guys, what is it?" Mikey called down to them. Before they could respond, Mikey heard a loud, hideous chittering coming from above. He flashed his light upwards.

Pouring from the dark recesses of the cave were hundreds of giant black spiders.

"AAAAHH! AAAAAAGGGHHH!"

Everyone shot their eyes to the top of the shaft, and saw the hoard of black, hairy legs and red eyes descending on them.

"Move, move, move!" shrieked Mouth, clamoring as fast as he could down the chain without falling.

More spiders poured from cracks in the cave wall, skittering in all directions.

Jackie clasped the chain so hard her knuckles turned white.

"We gotta move, Jackie, now!" said Mikey.

"This isn't happening," wailed Jackie, on the brink of tears.

The hoard of spiders converged on the pulley, crawling towards them down the rusty chain.

"GOOOO!" said Mikey.

With a defiant yell, Jackie began to snake down the chain, her eyes still shut tight.

Stef and Mouth lead the way, spiders darting across the wall only inches from them. Below them, a large web was formed between the chain and the wall. Three large spiders crossed it and climbed up the chain to meet them.

"Oh no. No!" yelled Mouth.

A spider latched onto his sneaker and crawled up his leg to his chest, its black fangs glistening. Mouth balled his fist and punched the spider clean off him.

More spiders crossed the web to the chain. Stef grabbed hold of a rock jutting from the wall and wrenched it clean off.

"Little bastards," she said, hurling the rock at the web and snapping it off the wall.

"There's one on me! There's one on me!" said Chunk, beating the back of his jacket. A spider zigzagged across his back looking for a spot to bite into.

"Don't move, Chunk," said Data. He reached out and slapped Chunk across the back over and over.

"Ow! Ow, Data!"

"Hold still!"

He brought his hand down again and knocked the spider into the darkness below.

Stef squealed in terror as a particularly large and ugly one creeped up her leg.

"Get off her," said Mouth. He smacked at her leg, but the spider dodged his blows. Hissing with rage, it reigned up on its hind legs. It came down on Mouth's hand, sinking its fangs into his flesh.

"OOOOOOOWWW!"

"Clark!" said Stef.

Stef raised her boot to kick off the spider, but it only latched on to her sole. She smashed her foot against the cave wall, crushing the spider with a sickening crunch.

"Clark, are you alright?"

Mouth moaned with pain, reaching out and grabbing onto Stef's chain to steady himself. Stef wrapped her arm around him.

The chain suddenly rattled, buckling under the new weight.

"Aw, shit," said Chunk.

Stef, Mouth, Chunk, and Jackie began to sink down the shaft while Mikey and Data rose towards the top.

"Mikey!" yelled Data.

"Grab the other side!" said Mikey.

They both reached for the falling chain. Data grabbed hold, but the momentum yanked him down with it.

"MIKEEEEY!" his voice echoed.

Mikey still clung to the rising chain. His eyes swelled with fear. He breathed so fast he thought he might have an asthma attack. The roof of the shaft pulsed with hoards of spiders waiting to devour him.

He smashed his feet against the cave wall, trying to slow his ascent. His sneakers plowed through spiders, sending them tumbling down below. The roof was only feet from him. The spiders readied their fangs.

Mikey threw off his chain, kicking hard against the wall. For an instant, he sailed through the air. He wrapped his hands around the falling chain and rode it all the way down into the darkness.

He felt himself slam hard against soft dirt. Pain shot through his entire body, and all he could do was a lie still. He felt the others stirring next to him.

"Guys?" he said.

"Yeah, we're here," came Data's voice.

Light began to fill the pit, and Mikey saw that Data had found his lantern. There was a long crack in it now, but thankfully it still worked.

"Everyone okay?" said Mikey.

"No," wailed Chunk.

Everyone was just beginning to rise, rubbing bruised backs and scratched arms. Chunk was massaging his butt, Data had a small cut on his chin, and Jackie now had torn pants and a scrapped knee.

"I am _never_ doing that again," she said in a nearly panicked whisper.

Mouth sat hunched against the wall with his head down, squeezing his hand. Stef crouched next to him, gently stroking the back of his head. Mikey approached them.

"Mouth, are you-"

"AAAGGGGHHH!" came Chunk's maddened scream.

All of their eyes flew upward as the flood of spiders came barreling down the shaft towards them. The Goonies began to scurry like trapped prey. Mikey scanned the pit walls and found a tunnel.

"This way, guys!"

Stef pulled Mouth to his feet as they all took off down the tunnel. Spiders dropped from the ceiling onto the floor. Countless more poured onto the tunnel walls, closing in on the fleeing meat.

"They're gonna eat us!" said Chunk.

As they fled down the tunnel, Data finally screeched to a halt.

"Data, what are you doing, come on!" said Stef.

Data turned around to face the onslaught of spiders.

"Data!" cried Jackie.

Data, with a hard scowl, thrust out his arm and flipped a switch.

"Green Goo!"

A gray hose jutted out from his sleeve and spewed a thick, green slime. Data sprayed the floor behind them with the gunk, and then the walls and the ceiling. The spiders tried to plow through the muck, but their hairy legs held fast, swallowed in slime.

They fought to free themselves, but they struggled in vain. A messy traffic jam of spiders and goo clogged the tunnel.

Data continued to hose them down, until those that remained retreated back to the shaft.

Data gave a triumphant laugh. "Go back to the hole you crawled out of! Data wins this round!"

Mikey and Jackie clasped him on the shoulder.

"Good job, Data," said Mikey with a smile.

Chunk watched the sticky mess of spiders still thrashing in the slime. His face paled, and he looked like he might be sick. Mouth didn't look any better.

"C'mon, you guys," said Mikey. "Let's get out of here. I hope we can find another way out."

They went a bit further down the tunnel before they stopped to rest, leaving the wall of spiders far behind. Mouth dropped to his knees, his face stark white and covered in sweat. Jackie busted out her first aid kit and began to treat his hand, which now had a throbbing white sore the size of a small tangerine.

"Just relax, you'll be okay," said Jackie with a consoling smile.

"Meh, I've had worse," said Mouth with the best smirk he could muster. Stef wiped the sweat from his face and gave him a swig of water from the jug she carried. Taking several deep breaths, he rested his head on Stef's shoulder and began to drift into sleep.

Each of them sat for a moment to nurse their wounds. The excitement Mikey had felt when he discovered the Black Rock and the hidden tunnel had already worn off. Now they were just damp, bruised, and trapped in the dark.

In the back of his mind he was forced to remind himself that this was what he had wanted. Another grand adventure like the one he'd had before. He began to feel that this was all his own fault. He needed to find the Sovereign's crown, not for Edward Garofalo, but to correct his own mistakes.

"Hey guys," he said standing up. "I know everyone's tired and bruised, but we need to keep moving. We have to find that crown."

"Mouth really needs to rest for a little while," said Jackie.

"Well, we don't have a little while," Mikey snapped.

"Mikey," said Stef, giving him a stone cold glare.

Data and Chunk remained silent.

"Fine," said Mikey. "Everyone stay here and rest. I'll scout on ahead… by myself."

"Mikey, don't," said Jackie, shooting to her feet. "Don't go off on your own."

Mikey had already started off down the tunnel.

"Stay here with Mouth," he called over his shoulder. "I'm going on ahead."

"You're not the only one worried about Brand and Andy!" Stef shouted.

Mikey stopped dead. He looked back at Stef.

"We all care about them, Mikey," said Stef with a hard stare. "That's why we're all here. Don't march off into the dark all determined because you think it's all 'up to you' or some shit. Nobody's backing out on you."

Mikey stared back at his friends. Stef, Data, and Chunk looked back at him with the same determination he felt pounding in his heart. Jackie, however, busied herself wrapping Mouth's hand in gauze, looking almost ashamed.

"All right," Mikey said. "We'll wait."

He felt like an anxious race horse that had been locked in his starting gate. He leaned his back against the wall and sank down to the ground.

Stef caressed Mouth's cheek as he nodded off. She allowed herself to nod off as well. Chunk snacked on some Twinkies he had picked up in the gas station while Data fiddled with his inventions.

When Jackie had tended Mouth's bite as best she could, she came over and sat next to Mikey.

"I'm sorry," she said.

Mikey furrowed his brow. "For what?"

"I'm sorry if I seem like I don't care."

"What are you talking about?"

Jackie bit her lip, searching for the right words.

"I mean, I don't even know you're brother and his girlfriend. But I still care. I want to help. I don't know how I got pulled into this, but because I'm here, I care. Does that make sense?"

Mikey couldn't help but smirk. "It's okay, Jackie. I know you care."

Jackie smiled. Her gaze fell to the spyglass sticking out of Mikey's back pocket.

"So… I've been meaning to ask you. If you didn't steal that from the museum, where exactly did it come from?"

Mikey smiled. "My attic."

"The Golden Spyglass of Crooked Joe was in your attic?"

"Yep. Found a treasure map up there too once."

Jackie raised an eyebrow.

"It's true," said Mikey with a laugh. "I'll take you up there sometime. Who knows, maybe we'll find _another_ adventure."

Jackie giggled. "Well, one at a time."

Mikey smiled back at her. He really liked her smile.

"I know you care, Jackie. You don't need to feel left out," he said. "In fact, why don't we change that right now?"

"What do you mean?"

Mikey's smile grew wider. "Raise your right hand, and repeat after me."

_I will never betray my Goon Dock friends,_

_We will stick together until the whole world ends._

_Through heaven and hell, and nuclear war,_

_Good friends like us, will stick like tar._

_In the city, or the country, or the forest, or the boonies,_

_I am proudly declared, a fellow Goony._

Jackie repeated the oath, word for word, the smile never leaving her face.

"Thanks, Mikey."

Mikey felt a rush of blood go to his head as she said that. A feeling of excitement washed over him. The same excitement he remembered feeling when Andy had grabbed him in the dark and pressed her lips against his. Mikey wanted to lean close to Jackie.

"Well, isn't that the cutest thing ever," said a hoarse voice behind them.

Mikey looked up to see Mouth standing there, looking pale, but with the usual twinkle in his eye.

"Mouth, are you ok?" said Mikey. "Should you be standing?"

"I'm fine," he said, not completely hiding the dizziness in his voice. "Let's quit lying down on the job and find this shiny headband."

Stef, Data, and Chunk came up behind him. Stef put a gentle hand on his elbow.

"Take it easy, Mouth. Stay close to me."

Mouth forced out a groan. "If I _have_ to."


	11. Chapter 10: The Hall of Bones

**Chapter 10: The Hall of Bones**

The scratch of their footsteps filled the dark tunnel. Mikey lead the way, with Data close behind holding his lantern high.

"Do we have any idea where this thing is even leading us?" said Stef.

Mikey scratched the back of his neck, trying to remember the last lines inscribed on the spyglass.

"Something about 'Acland's Lantern guarding the Sovereign's crown.'"

"So we're looking for a lantern?" said Data.

"Maybe the crown's hidden inside a lantern," said Chunk.

"A crown's not gonna fit inside a lantern, dummy," said Mouth.

"Ya never know," said Chunk. "Maybe King Alfred had a really small head."

Mikey interjected. "If the Eye of Acland is a spyglass, and the White Wall is a waterfall, then the Lantern could be anything."

"The Black Rock was a black rock, so it could be a lantern," said Mouth.

"Maybe the Lantern's a metaphor," said Jackie. "Like enlightenment, or-"

"Look!" Data shouted.

Their eyes shot forward. Far down the tunnel came the dim glow of sunlight. Without even realizing he was doing it, Mikey was sprinting down the tunnel. The pounding of footsteps behind him told him his friends were doing the same.

Mikey skidded to a halt as the tunnel widened into a vast chamber. Holes in the roof of the cavern spilled golden sunlight across a grizzly scene.

A sea of skeletons lay strewn about the cave, the casualties of a some centuries old battle. They still clung to their rusty cutlasses, rapiers, muskets, and pistols. Broken barrels, wooden chests, and empty bottles of rum lay amidst the dead.

Through the center of the chamber ran a small river. It seeped in from under the wall and ran into the wide mouth of a tunnel on the opposite side. A splintered longboat sat on the bank with two pirates draped over the side. Their attempt to make a hasty getaway had failed.

"Yo," said Mikey in an awed whisper.

"What is this place?" asked Chunk.

Mikey took the first step onto the battlefield. He looked down at a pirate in a faded bandana and crumbling silk shirt. A main gauche stuck him between his ribs. Despite the grimness of the scene, Mikey couldn't help but smile at the sheer awe of it. Besides, it proved they were getting somewhere.

Mouth stepped into the cavern and pulled a boarding axe from a brigand's cleft skull.

"Man, this place must have been like the Gettysburg of the pirates."

"This is so amazing," said Mikey. "This must have been Crooked Joe's hideout. He must have come back years later and built this place when he was searching for Willy's treasure."

Mikey looked down the river through the dark tunnel into which it flowed.

"They would row out through there to the sea where they would attack and plunder ships, and then bring the treasure back here to hide it.

He approached a long table, where the marred and dust covered pewter plates had held some great feast long ago. More dead pirates sat in high backed chairs, flung across the table next to web covered candlesticks. Grimy mugs and flagons were still in their boney hands that had once been held high during merry sailing shanties and bawdy drinking songs.

Jackie came up next to Mikey, her eyes filled with fear of the dead men.

"What happened to them all?"

"There must have been a mutiny or something," said Mikey.

He could almost hear the roar of gunfire and the clash of steel as if the sounds of battle were still echoing deep in the caves. Some scoundrel among Crooked Joe's crew must have taken arms against the captain and sought to take all his treasure for himself.

Mikey suddenly had an urge to take a rapier in hand and leap atop the table, fighting off a horde of treacherous buccaneers. If there was a chandelier nearby, he would have grabbed Jackie around the waist and swung across the chamber on it.

"Hey, maybe some of their treasure's still here," said Data.

"Yeah, treasure!" said Chunk.

Chunk and Data raced towards a large chest that sat amidst the bones. Two pirates clung to the handles of the chest with their dead hands. Data took up a broken cutlass and pried open the lid. Chunk reached inside, drooling as if he were reaching into a chest full of ding-dongs, but his pudgy hand pulled up nothing but dirt.

"I don't get it," he said. "Where's all the treasure?"

"It's gone, you morons," said Stef, treading over a dead man skewered with a marlin spike. "Whoever won this fight took all the treasure."

"C'mon, there's gotta be something left," said Mouth.

Mouth wandered towards a mountain of barrels stacked by the wall near the river.

"Maybe in here." He ripped off the dirt covered lid of a barrel and reached inside. His already pale face blanched even more. "Whoa."

"Did you find gold?" said Chunk.

"No," said Mouth. As he pulled his hand out of the barrel, they saw it completely covered in black powder.

"Gunpowder," said Mikey.

"Uh… Mouth, maybe you should step away from the big pile of gunpowder," said Stef.

"Yeah, good idea," said Mouth, casting a weary glance towards the stack of barrels as he beat the powder off on his jeans.

Jackie furrowed her brow with worry.

"If Acland stored all his treasure here, and the pirates took it, they might have taken the crown to."

Mikey cast a determined gaze across the chamber.

"I don't know," he said. "Joe wouldn't have just left it sitting around. He would have hidden it."

"In a lantern," said Chunk.

Mikey's eyes scanned all along the cave walls. On the far side of the river there were more tunnels branching off from the main chamber.

"We gotta explore those tunnels."

Two logs lashed together formed a rickety bridge that each of them crossed. Four tunnels lead off deep into the bowels of the cavern.

"Which one do we go down?" asked Data.

It took Mikey a moment to notice that all of them were looking at him.

"Oh, uh… I don't know."

"Oh great," said Mouth. "So do we all just split up? If someone gets lost or breaks their leg we just scream?"

Chunk began to tremble as sweat beaded on his forehead.

"Hey Mouth, cool it," said Stef.

"We're not just gonna wander off aimlessly, Mouth," said Mikey. "We can figure this out."

Mikey rested his chin on a clenched fist.

"Well, this tunnel's going south… I think. And this one-"

"Hey, look at that," said Jackie, pointing towards the mouth of a tunnel.

Mikey took a closer look, and furrowed his brow.

Hunched against the wall at the threshold of the tunnel, was a skeleton dressed in a shabby, but eloquent dark red coat, its brass buttons still shimmered in the sunlight. In his lifeless hands he held a flintlock pistol and a golden, bell guard cutlass. Mikey approached him as if afraid he would wake him from a nap.

He knelt next to the skeleton and with the greatest care he could muster, lifted the sword from the dead man's grasp. Mikey rubbed the sleeve of his jacket on the blade, and beneath a thin layer of rust, thought he could make out a Latin inscription.

"Hey Jackie, can you read this?"

Jackie came and knelt next to him. She rubbed her glasses on her blouse and stared hard at the blade. She began to read aloud.

_Though a Black Flag flies above us, we are one and all Princes of the Sea. -C.J.A._

"C.J.A.?" said Mikey. "Crooked Joe Acland."

"This is him," said Jackie.

Mikey looked at the dead pirate. He lay slumped against the wall, his head resting as if he had simply drifted off to sleep. The center of his sternum was shattered, and Mikey knew he must have caught a ball right in his heart.

"They just left him here to rot," said Mikey. "We would never have saved the Goon Docks if it wasn't for him."

"Well, maybe they didn't get the crown," said Jackie.

Mikey looked down the dark tunnel and back at Crooked Joe. He smiled.

"That's why he's here. That's why he's guarding this tunnel."

Mikey shot to his feet and turned towards his friends.

"This is it guys, this has to be it."

The others smiled. The excitement that had left them had returned. The crown was close. They could feel it.

"Let's go," said Stef. She grabbed Data's lantern out of his hand and took off down the tunnel. Chunk and Data followed close behind. Mouth paused for a moment to lean against the wall, shutting his eyes and taking a deep breath.

"Whoa, Mouth, you ok?" said Mikey taking him by the arm. His eyes fell on the wrapped spider bite.

"I'm fine, just a little winded," he said shaking off Mikey's grip. "C'mon, this crown ain't gonna find itself."

He followed after Data as if nothing had happened. Mikey looked down at Crooked Joe as Jackie rose to her feet.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. Go on ahead, I'm right behind you."

Jackie looked Mikey up and down, gave him a reassuring smile, and stepped into the tunnel.

Mikey crouched next to Joe once more and tightened his lip.

"Thanks, Joe."

He wasn't sure why he was doing it, and knew in the back of his mind that it was probably a foolish thing to do, but he reached into his back pocket and pulled out the golden spyglass. He squeezed it tight for a long moment, and placed it in the hand of Joseph Acland.

Mikey stood up tall, taking the captain's cutlass in hand. Tightening the muscles in his arm, he slashed at the air. He slid the blade into his belt, his heart racing with the promise of glory.

Whatever challenge awaited him in the darkness, whatever battle must be fought with Garofalo, he was ready.


	12. Chapter 11: Acland's Lantern

**Chapter 11: Acland's Lantern**

"You took that guy's sword?" said Chunk with raised eyebrows.

"Yes, Chunk," said Mikey with a sigh.

"What for?"

"It's a token to remember the adventure by," said Mikey with a defensive scowl. "You never know, it might come in handy."

"I guess Joe wouldn't mind," said Data. "We are continuing his crusade after all."

"No we're not," said Mouth. "If anything we're doing the opposite. We're breaking into his place and stealing his stuff. Particularly his most prized possession. I think he'd be pissed."

"It's for a good cause though," said Chunk. "We're trying to save Brand and Andy. He'd be proud of that."

"Since when do pirates care about good causes?" said Mouth.

"Shut up, Mouth," snapped Stef. "Don't waste your strength."

Mouth scowled at her, wincing as he squeezed his bandaged arm. It seemed to Mikey that Mouth's wound was making him irritable.

The tunnel stretched onward, delving ever deeper into the earth. Stef led the way with Data's lantern in hand.

"We gotta be careful, guys, there might be booty traps," said Data.

"You mean booby-?" said Mikey.

"That's what I said!"

"Whoa," said Stef, stopping dead. "Guys, check this out."

Stef lead them on as the tunnel widened into a chamber where a forest of stalactites hung from the ceiling. Their sharp points glistened like the fangs of some hungry beast.

"Holy crap," said Mikey. "Nobody sneeze."

"That's just an urban legend, they're not gonna fall on us," said Stef.

Mikey continued on through the chamber, his eyes set on the sharp teeth. He put his foot forward and felt it sink into nothingness.

"AAAAGGGHHH!"

Next thing he knew, Stef's arm was around his waist, hauling him backwards.

"Jesus!" Mikey shouted as he struggled to find his footing.

Through the floor of the chamber ran a yawning crack. A gap of ten feet separated them from the other side.

When Mikey had caught his breath, he dared to look over the edge. From the dim light of the lantern, he saw a menacing sea of stalagmites staring up at him.

"Oh crap."

Stef took a look over the edge.

"Ok, now what?"

"Look, there's a bridge on the other side," said Data. He pointed to a bridge of long wooden planks lashed together lying on the floor of the far side.

"Well, that doesn't do us much good," said Mouth.

"Maybe one of us could jump over and slide it across the chasm," said Mikey.

"Not it!" said Chunk.

"No, Mikey, they'd never make it," said Jackie.

"No, no, I can do this," said Stef. They all stared at her with wide eyes. She stared back.

"Really," she said. "I used to run track in middle school. I can do this."

"Track ain't the long jump," said Mouth.

"Yeah, I know, Mouth. Thanks for pointing that out," she said with squinting eyes. She handed the lantern off to Chunk. "Just give me some room, I can make this."

"No, Stef, this is crazy," said Mouth, taking a step to block her. "You're not gonna make it. Most of us here are smart people, we can figure out something better."

"Get out of the way, Mouth," said Stef. She took off her jacket and stretched her legs.

"Stef, I won't let you do this!" Mouth shouted.

"Oh, I get it. You do crap like taunting a guy with a gun and throwing yourself in front of a truck, but the second I try to do something dangerous you gotta step in and be the macho man."

"It's not about that, Stef."

"Well, then what is it about?"

Mouth furrowed his brow. His lips tried to form words that never came.

"Whatever, Mouth, I'm going."

Like the crack of a whip, Stef sprinted towards the gap.

"No!" Mouth screamed.

She reached the edge and leapt into the air. The others watched with baited breath. A chorus of gasps filled the cave as Stef's feet didn't strike the ground on the far side, but sank into the darkness of the pit.

With a painful scratching of dirt and rock, Stef latched onto the pit's edge, dangling over the spiked sea below her.

"Stephanie!" Mouth cried as he darted to the edge. Mouth took a step back, preparing to leap out after her.

"Mouth, don't," said Mikey, latching onto Mouth's arm.

With gritted teeth, Stef struggled to pull herself up, her feet scraping at the cliff wall. She reached a hand up over the edge, searching blindly for something to grab onto. With a desperate thrust, she shot her hand forward, but grabbed only a handful of dust. As she rocked back, her grip faltered, and she plunged into the shadows.

Mouth's eyes bulged "No!"

"Stef!" cried Jackie.

A splash of water met their ears.

"Stef?" Chunk whispered after a long moment.

"This is really cold," came Stef's voice.

They all raced to the edge of the pit. Data shined his light down into it. Ten feet below, they saw Stef crouched in two feet of water.

Mikey looked from the stalactite covered ceiling to the pool below. He smiled.

"A reflection," he said. "It was just an illusion."

The others chuckled with relief. All except Mouth, who looked like he might pass out again.

Stef stood up with a grumble. "Guess that proves I suck at the long jump."

She made her way to a steep slope in the pit wall and managed to climb her way up. Once on the far side, she slid the bridge of planks across to the others.

Mouth crossed the bridge and looked her in the eye.

"For a second, I thought you were…"

"Were what?"

Mouth shook his head and marched on. "Forget it."

"Oh man, what is that smell?" said Chunk, his nostrils flaring.

The others lifted their noses in the air.

"I don't smell anything," said Data.

Chunk smiled. "It smells kinda like a barbeque."

"Barbeque?" said Jackie with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, like when my family has a cookout in the backyard. It smells like the grill right after my dad fires it up."

Stef took a long whiff of the air. "I don't smell a damn thing."

"Chunk," said Jackie. "Does your family use a charcoal or gas grill?"

"Gas," said Chunk.

"… Oh no," said Mikey

"Chunk," Jackie said slowly. "I think you're smelling methane."

"Natural gas!" said Mouth. "How the hell can he smell that?"

"I like barbeque," said Chunk with a defensive scowl.

"So there's a natural gas leak down the tunnel?" said Mikey, "Won't that suffocate us or something?"

"Well no," said Jackie. "But it is really flammable."

"Well, that complicates things," said Stef.

"Look, it's no big deal," said Mikey waving his arms. "Our lantern is battery powered and none of us smoke. Let's just get in and out of their quickly."

"Alright, fine," said Mouth. "But if I suffocate I'm gonna come back from the dead just long enough to kill you."

"Fair enough."

Mikey lead the way, his cutlass in hand. With each scratching step, the darkness seemed to thicken, and the air became colder.

They were close now, Mikey could feel it. He gripped his cutlass tight. As his mind whirred with excitement, he thought he could hear the hissing of a great and terrible dragon.

The others could feel it too. None of them made a sound as they crept onward. Mikey shivered as the cold, clammy air clung to his skin. Then suddenly he stopped.

Data's lantern didn't reach more than two feet in front of him, but he could sense something in the dark.

"Have we made it?" Chunk whispered.

"I don't know," said Mikey.

He inched his way forward, and he could feel the tunnel widen into a pitch black chamber. He paused at the edge of a deep trench that ran across the entrance, guarding the chamber. Straining his ears, he listened closely. There was a hissing, and it was coming from the trench.

"Do you guys hear that?"

Stef squinted. "What the hell is that?"

Chunk's face turned white. "It's a monster! There's a monster down there. He's gonna eat us!"

Data smacked the back of Chunk's head.

Jackie stepped to the edge of the trench.

"It's the gas," she said. "It must be seeping through down there."

Data shined his light down into the pit. Deep below, they could see clouds of rippling air pouring from deep cracks in the rock.

"Be careful, guys," said Mikey.

With a deep breath, he hopped across the trench to the far side. The others quickly followed.

They found themselves in a round chamber. The smooth walls climbed higher and higher until they met in a large point like a church tower. Mikey looked down at the floor and saw a ring of black liquid surrounding them. It hugged tight to the wall, and ended at the edge of the trench where two rocks blocked it from spilling over.

Data approached the black circle and stuck a finger in it.

"Oil, you guys," he said. "Why would this be here?"

"I don't know," said Stef. "But don't mess with it. Let's find whatever's here and get out."

"You guys," said Mikey, a grin slowing forming on his face. "Look"

They all turned to see a splintered wooden chest at the far end of the chamber. Dust and dirt caked its every surface, and the iron bands were so rusted it looked as though they would snap at the slightest touch.

Mikey was the first to approach. He knelt down before it, his eyes bursting with wonder. The others crowded around him, all their eyes locked on the chest.

Mikey worked the blade of his cutlass between the arms of an ancient lock, and with a quick jerk, the rusted hunk of metal burst free.

"Mikey, be careful," said Jackie.

Mikey took the lid in both hands, and lifted it as if it were made of the most delicate glass. The hinges moaned like ghosts.

"Here, take it," said Mikey.

Mouth and Chunk grabbed both ends of the lid, holding it in place.

They all gazed inside the chest with enormous eyes. A pile of dirty rags was all they saw.

"Mikey?" said Stef.

"Just wait," he said.

He reached his hands inside and began to peel back the filthy layers of cloth.

"It's gotta be here," he whispered. "It has to be."

Mouth let out a frightened sigh. "Well, what if it's not?"

Mikey's face hardened. "It has to be."

He peeled back another layer, and as he reached for the next one, his hand pinched something hard beneath.

A breath of shock escaped his lips. He lifted the last bit of cloth. The others pushed in closer, trembling with excitement. The lid shuddered in Mouth and Chunk's grasp. Mikey lifted his hands out of the chest.

In his grasp was a crown of solid gold. It was little more than a simple band, and smaller than Mikey had expected. Even on his head it would have been a tight fit. The band was flecked with rubies smaller than pebbles, and the gold was scarred with age.

But Mikey smiled.

The gold shimmered in the light of the lantern, and the rubies burned with an ancient fire.

"It's real," Mikey whispered. "We found it. The Sovereign's Crown."

He heard his friends smile. Jackie reached out and brushed her fingers across its shining gold, her mouth agape.

"It's unbelievable," she said. "This was worn by the Kings of England for over four hundred years."

"Man, that's gotta be worth a billion dollars," said Chunk.

Mikey frowned. The crown was the most priceless treasure he could have ever dreamed of. Now it was his bargaining chip. Could he deliver such an item into the hands of a murderous brute like Edward Garafolo? It didn't matter. Brand and Andy were the important thing. Anything else he would deal with in due time.

"There isn't much time," Mikey said, rising to his feet. "Now that we have it, we have to get to the harbor."

Stef shook her head. "I can't believe we found it."

"Yeah," said Chunk. "Good job, Mikey,"

He leaned in to slap Mikey on the back. In the process, he dropped the chest lid, and it snapped out of an unsuspecting Mouth's hand.

Before any of them knew what had happened, there was a blinding flash as a shower of sparks shot out the chest. They all stumbled back in a clamor of surprise as a pillar of fire erupted from the ring of oil

The chamber filled with light as the two sides of the burning circle sped towards the hissing trench. Mikey stood there, frozen in shock. None of them were able to move until Stef's voice snapped them from their stupor.

"Run, you guys!" She put her hands on Jackie and Data and shoved them towards the trench. Mouth and Chunk shook their heads and sprinted behind her.

Mikey turned to look at the chest. A bar of flint was nailed to the back of the lid that had struck a bar of steel on the back of the chest when Chunk had dropped it, igniting the oil.

Stef leapt over the trench with Jackie and Data close behind. Mouth and Chunk leapt at the same time, just as the two rock dams were knocked loose by the flaming oil. The burning liquid spilled into the trench like a waterfall of lava.

"Mikey, come on!" Jackie shouted.

Mikey turned from the booby trapped chest and barreled towards the tunnel. He prepared to leap for his life when a storm of searing flames erupted from the trench. Mikey stumbled backwards, his arms shielding his face from the suffocating heat.

Mikey looked about the chamber with desperate eyes, flames licking at him from all directions. All of his friends and his only escape lay beyond an impenetrable wall of fire.

"Mikey!" he heard them shout over the flaming roar.

He looked at the crown in his hand. He set his jaw and scowled hard. He hadn't come this far to lay his hands on the Sovereign's Crown only for it to end like this.

He thrust his cutlass into his belt, and covered his head with his jacket. He shut his eyes tight, charged forward, and leapt through the fire. He tucked his legs under him as if he were doing a cannonball and felt himself collapse on hard ground.

"Mikey!" he heard Jackie's voice.

His eyes shot open, and he immediately began to convulse and thrash about like a dying snake. Patches of fire burned on the knee of his jeans and the shoulder of his jacket that he slapped and beat at mercilessly until they were just simmering black splotches.

"I can't believe you did that," said Stef.

"Dude, that was insane," said Mouth.

Mikey didn't respond. He clamored to his feet and took off down the tunnel. "We have to get out of here."

His friends followed close behind. They raced back across the bridge over the reflecting pool. As Chunk stumbled clumsily across it, he accidently kicked it loose and into the water below.

As Mikey ran through the tunnels, he could hear the roar of flames echo beyond the walls. He felt a rush of fear down his spine as he realized that more than just the treasure chamber may be choked with fire.

The Goonies burst out the mouth of the tunnel back into the hall of bones. Just as they did, one of the other three tunnels vomited a scourge of fire into the hall. Flames were already spilling from the tunnel at the far end. The hall was set ablaze as the raging inferno swallowed it.

"Oh God!" Stef moaned. "What are we gonna do?"

"We gotta get out of here. Like now!" said Mouth.

"Look, the river," said Jackie, thrusting a finger forward.

Their eyes fell on the rowboat sitting on the bank.

"Go!" Mikey shouted.

They shot forward towards the boat. Ignoring the bridge, they splashed their way across the water. Stef and Data grabbed hold of the two dead pirates and tossed them overboard.

"Sorry guys, we need this more than you do," said Data.

Mikey drew his cutlass to slice the rope that moored it to a large rock.

"Mikey…" he heard Chunk say.

"Not now, Chunk."

He gave the rope a good hack, but it held fast. He raised it higher when Chunk prodded him hard in the ribs.

"Mikey!"

"What is it, Chunk!"

Mikey turned to see Chunk's pale white face staring up river. Mikey followed his gaze, and his eyes fell on a flaming wooden board.

A flaming wooden board sitting atop the mountain of gunpowder.

Mikey's jaw fell almost to the ground. With one mighty swing of his cutlass, the rope snapped.

"Go, go, go!" he shrieked. All of them grabbed the side of the boat and hauled it into the river. They clamored inside and began to row desperately with their hands.

Mikey began to look back over his shoulder, when he was blinded by a searing light. The barrels of gunpowder shattered into flying splinters as an apocalyptic explosion shook the cave. Mikey's eardrums screamed with agony and his skin burned as a wave of unbearable heat washed over them.

The blast knocked the river straight off of its bed, and the rowboat was thrust forward as a massive wave overtook it.

The Goonies held on for dear life as their boat rocketed down the river and into the dark tunnel. They rode the torrent left and right as the tunnel twisted in every direction, the spray of salt water covering them. The boat banged against the wall at each turn with a teeth shattering shutter, breaking large splinters of the ancient wood. Mikey wrapped his arms around the edge of the boat, his eyes shut tight, fearing that with each turn the boat would capsize.

The merciless waves pushed them into a long, straight stretch of tunnel, where they could see the dim glow of daylight at the far end. They clung to each other, preparing for whatever awaited them at the end. They reached the mouth of the cave, and the waves spat them out like a bullet out of a gun barrel. They sailed through the air, screaming the whole way.

The boat crashed into the sea with a thunderous crack, catapulting them all into the salty water.

The impact left Mikey in a daze, and he let himself sink and bob for a moment. The cool water felt soothing on his burnt red skin. He broke the surface, took a deep breath, and made his way towards the shore.

The sun was nearing the horizon, and they found themselves before a great cliff face on a small sandy beach. The cave they had been blasted out of was about fifteen feet up, and still sputtering the waves from the explosion. A small ways to the north, the beach gave way into the forest.

Bruised, sore, skin burned, sopping wet, and with a loud ringing in his ears, Mikey collapsed onto the sand, gasping the evening air. He looked at his friends. Data, with an exhausted Chunk leaning on him, was making his way towards the shore. Stef had Jackie by the arm and was helping her to the beach, while Mouth was already lying in the sand, his head in his arms. Out in the water, the splintered remains of the rowboat had slipped beneath the waves.

Mikey let his head fall back to the sand, and a wave of exhaustion spilled over him. In one hand, he felt Joe's cutlass. In the other hand, he felt a ring of gold. His eyes shot open. He looked at the Sovereign's Crown, shimmering in the light of the setting sun.

Mikey smiled, and before he knew it, he was laughing.

"We got it!"


	13. Chapter 12: Jerk Alert

**Chapter 12: Jerk Alert**

Mikey trudged up the road, his friends close behind him. With each step his sneakers squished with sand and salt water. The sun had set, and they moved as quickly as they could in the darkening twilight. Thick woods spread in all directions, and the last thing any of them wanted was to be trapped out here in the dark. Besides, they didn't have much time left.

"How far to the bridge back?" Chunk asked.

"I don't know," said Mikey. "I have no idea where we are."

After being blasted out of the cave, they followed the beach into the woods, where they managed to find the road through the forest and began travelling east. But how far they had yet to go, none of them could say.

Mikey looked at his friends. The stress of the day's adventures had really begun to take their toll. They moved slowly, nursing scrapes, cuts, and sore muscles. Jackie rubbed a bruise on her cheek she got from the ride through the tunnel. Stef had developed a slight limp from her fall from the ledge. Meanwhile, Mouth leaned his head on her shoulder as he walked, breathing heavily and squeezing his bandaged hand. He needed a doctor.

Mikey could feel his stomach begin to roar with hunger, and was certain everyone else's was also. That certainly didn't help things.

"All right, there's a car coming," said Mikey as two headlights appeared. "Hey! Hey, stop!"

Mikey stepped onto the road, waving his arms in the air. The O.R.V. sped right past, ignoring them completely.

"Damn it!"

"Don't worry, Mikey," said Data. "We just have to keep moving. We'll get there."

"Not at this rate," said Mikey. "We can't have more than a couple hours left. God knows how long it'll take us to get all the way to the harbor."

Jackie took hold of Mikey's arm. "We're not giving up, Mikey. We'll get there. Everything will be all right."

Mikey really wanted to believe her.

"Look, there's another car," said Stef. Each of them stepped out into the street this time, waving their arms like desperate castaways. A red Mustang screeched to a halt in front of them. Mikey's jaw dropped. This was the last person in the world he expected to see.

"Jerk alert!" said Mouth.

"Troy Perkins?" said Stef with a scowl.

Troy Perkins bolted up right in his seat.

"Steinbrenner? What the hell are you doing out here?"

"Shut up, Troy. We're in the middle of a crisis. We need a ride to the harbor."

"You all have been missing since last night, somebody broke into the museum, and Walsh's house is all torn up. Now you're all just dicking around in the woods? What the hell's going on here?"

Stef stomped up to the car and grabbed Troy by his letter jacket.

"If you don't shut up, I'm gonna shut you up! Now you're giving us a ride."

"There's no way I can fit you all in my car."

"Then find a way."

Troy made a pouty face. "Whatever. Stupid Goonies."

As they began to pile in, Troy's eye fell on Mikey. He stared at the cutlass in his belt, and the golden crown clenched in his fist.

"What's that?" said Troy with a suspicious glare.

"Nothing," said Mikey, stashing the crown behind his back. Troy sucked a tooth, his eyes boring into Mikey.

"Troy!" Stef snapped.

Troy put the car in gear, an eye still lingering on Mikey.

Stef and Jackie shared the front seat, while Mikey, Mouth, Chunk, and Data squeezed into the back. It was a tight fit, but they managed. Troy spun the car around and took them back towards the bridge.

"You guys are gonna be in such deep shit when we get back," said Troy with a smug grin. "I can't wait to see the sheriff rip you all a new one. I hope he throws you all in jail for the night."

"Shut up and drive," said Stef.

They rode on in silence for a few minutes. Mikey rested his head against the leather seat and let his eyes close. He was grateful for the cool breeze and the chance to rest. He just wished it had been with anyone else on the planet other than Jerky Troy Perky.

"Damn it, my check engine light just came on," said Troy.

"What?" said Stef.

"There's no way I'm driving all the way into town with this thing flashing. I'm gonna stop at this gas station up here."

"Troy, we don't have time for this," said Stef. "Your stupid car will be fine. Besides, this place is abandoned."

Mikey opened his eyes to see Troy pulling into the gas station they had spent the previous night in.

"It doesn't matter, they might have some tools I can use," said Troy. "I just want to check under the hood."

He stopped the car in front of the garage.

"This is such a waste of time!" said Stef.

"Shut up, Steinbrenner. Help me find a toolbox or something."

Troy jumped out of the car and threw open the rusty garage door. "All of you, get out here and help me."

"Who does this guy think he is?" Jackie whispered over her shoulder.

"If he doesn't think he's an asswipe, he really should," said Mouth.

"Come on guys, every second we delay is one more second Brand and Andy lose," said Mikey. "Let's just get this over with."

With dragging feet and tired huffs, they got out of the Mustang and made their way into the garage. They weren't sure what to actually look for, and hoped Troy would just solve the problem himself. Mikey noted Troy's incompetence and found the chances of this to be slim. They poked around a bit, but were snapped out of their stupor when they heard the garage door slam closed behind them.

"Whoa, what the…" said Chunk.

They heard a loud bolt on the far side, followed by Troy's cackle.

"Troy!" Stef screamed.

"You all could not be stupider!" he shouted. "I've caught you all red handed. Good luck explaining to the sheriff where you got that stuff. Hey Walsh, maybe the museum will finally fire your dad when they find out his own son broke in."

"Troy!" Mikey spat, kicking his sneaker into the garage door. "You have no idea what you're doing. Brand and Andy are in danger."

"Whatever, Walsh," Troy said with another laugh. "You all are so dead."

"Let us out, Troy. Now!" said Stef.

"You want out? Maybe Cohen can eat his way out."

Chunk's face turned red as a tomato, and an ugly scowl formed on his brow.

"Is he calling me fat? He's calling me fat, isn't he?"

They heard the crunch of Troy's shoes as he wandered away from the door, his laughter still booming.

"Troy! Get your ass back here and let us out," said Stef.

"Oh God, we do not have time for this," said Mikey.

"What's he doing, anyway?" said Data.

Stef kicked an empty wooden crate over to the garage door. She stepped up on it to peak out the high window.

"He's getting on the payphone," said Stef.

"That son of a bitch!" said Mikey.

"We've come so far!" said Chunk. "Now we're stuck in this stinky place cause of Troy Perkins. And he called me fat. He doesn't get to call me fat. That's all I can stand, and I can't stands no more! Let me at him!"

With a cry of unhinged rage, Chunk charged towards the garage door, smashing his body into it with an earth shaking rattle.

"Whoa, Chunk, be careful," said Jackie, raising her hands as if fearing he would bring the whole place down on them.

Chunk roared again, driving his body even harder into the door.

"That's right, Chunk, he called you fat," said Mouth. "He said you could eat your way out here. That you're such a disgusting tub you could eat anything. Troy said that!"

Chunk rammed his body into the door a third time, and smashed the corner off its rails. He spilled out, face first, into the dusty driveway.

"All right, Chunk," said Data with a squeal of glee.

"Yeah, nice one," said Mouth.

Stef was the first one to squeeze her way through the crack Chunk had made. She stepped over his body as he moaned with pain and marched straight towards Troy, her fists clenched.

"Hello, sheriff?" Troy said into the receiver, so high on his own ego that he failed to hear the mangled doorway. "I found those missing Goonies. They're way out here in Warrenton saying some crap about getting to the harbor. Is there some kind of reward for-"

Stef stabbed her fingernails into Troy's arm and spun him around to face her. He dropped the phone as she smashed her fist straight into his nose.

"OW!" he shrieked. He grabbed his bleeding face as Stef drove her knee deep into his gut. Troy fell to his knees, gasping for air.

Stef grabbed hold of the receiver and smashed it back onto its cradle.

"You are the biggest prick to ever walk the earth," she said through gritted teeth.

"I'm bleeding," Troy whined.

"Give me your keys," said Stef, shoving her hand into Troy's jacket pocket.

"Go to hell, you're not taking my-!"

Stef grabbed a handful of Troy's neatly cropped hair as she wrenched his car keys from his pocket.

"You're really in for it now!" said Troy with a crooked smile. "Now I get to tell the sheriff how you beat me up and stole my car."

"That ain't what you're gonna tell him, Troy," said Stef, giving him a hard look in the eye.

"Says who?"

"Says me. You're gonna tell him that when you found out about Brand and Andy's kidnapping, you lent us your car out of the kindness of your heart. Any bodily injuries you sustained came solely from you own stupidity, which is the exact truth. Tell them you fell or something."

Troy glared at Stef. "Why in God's name would I tell them any of that shit?"

"Because if you don't, I'll make sure the entire school knows what I caught you doing under the bleachers after the last homecoming game."

The blood in Troy's face vanished instantly. "You… you wouldn't."

"Just wait and see, Troy."

The two of them stared at each other for a long moment. Stef didn't blink once.

"All right. Take the stupid car," Troy said finally.

"I knew you had a heart, Troy," said Stef with a smirk.

Mikey, Mouth, and Jackie stood outside the garage, beaming with pride, Mouth especially. Chunk pealed himself off the ground, wiping the dust from his face.

"Ugh, what happened?"

"You did good, Chunk," said Mikey, slapping him on the back.

Jackie leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "You were brilliant."

"Oh… well," Chunk rubbed his cheek, his face burning red again.

A shrill, ear splitting siren suddenly filled the air. As their hands clamped down over their ears, they saw Data immerge from inside the station, a large smile on his face. In his fist was a blinking black box with a large dial.

"Good news, guys! Our bikes are still here. My anti-theft alarm really works."

"Data!" yelled Mikey.

"Oh yeah, sorry," Data flipped the dial and the night fell silent.

Pocketing his gizmo, he showed them the armload of canned food he'd collected and began digging into a can of beans with his pocket knife.

"Here, guys," he said. "I thought we could use the recharge."

"Oh, Data, you're a life saver," said Jackie helping herself to a mouthful beans.

Mikey and Chunk shared a can of creamed corn. It wasn't good at all, but it felt great to get something in their stomachs.

Data reached into his pocket and produced a dusty box of generic, over the counter nausea medicine.

"Here, Mouth, I found these. Maybe they can help."

"Ugh," said Mouth. "I really hope these aren't expired."

He popped a few in his mouth with a cringe.

"Mouth, we should really get you to a hospital," said Mikey.

"No way," said Mouth. "I'm going to the end. I'll be all right."

Stef plopped into the driver's seat of Troy's Mustang and ignited the engine.

"Let's go."

The others climbed inside. Stef tore off into the night, making sure to kick up a large cloud of dust in Troy's face.

They drove across the Young's Bay Bridge passing around a can of sting beans. Mikey looked out over the water, smirking at the thought of the one-eyed man's motorcycle rusting at the bottom. As they passed the shore, Mikey stared hard at the mud on the bank. He couldn't be sure, but he almost thought he could see a set of heavy boot prints.


	14. Chapter 13: Face to Face

**Chapter 13: Face to Face**

The harbor was a dark, foreboding place. Ships bobbed along the wharf like ghosts of rusty iron. Stef slowed the Mustang to a crawl.

"Now what?"

"I guess we wait," said Mikey.

He climbed out of the car and looked from one end of the harbor to the next. Mouth followed him.

"We don't even know what this Garofalo guy looks like," he said. "How are we gonna find him?"

Mikey took a deep breath. "I have a feeling he'll find us."

Mikey looked towards the town, and saw the Goon Docks in the distance. He saw the lights of his own house burning up on the hill. He thought of his parents, and how they must have been in there right now, worried to death about him and his brother. He was so close. He could have tossed the crown into the river that very moment and ran straight home where it was safe.

He looked at King Alfred's crown still clutched in his hand.

"I shouldn't just be carrying this out in the open. They could just shoot us on the spot and take it."

"Here, Mikey, give it to me," said Data.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'll just hide it in here."

Data unzipped his yellow backpack and stuffed the crown inside.

"For all they know we could have stashed it somewhere. Somewhere they'll never find without our help," said Data with a smile.

Mikey smiled back. "Hey, good thinking."

"You guys, someone's coming," said Jackie with a quiver in her voice.

They looked down the wharf, and sure enough, a tall, lanky figure was approaching them from the shadows. They huddled together, fists clenched. Jackie reached out and squeezed Mikey's arm.

Out of the darkness came a slim youth in a mud stained leather jacket and a black patch over his right eye. He now had a large purple bruise on the left side of his face. He looked at each of them with his one eye, and gave them an evil grin.

Mikey gave him a harsh glare, but behind him, he heard Mouth snicker.

"Hey, Cyclops. How's the bike?"

The young man approached Mouth, the smirk never leaving his face. Chunk and Data backed away, their eyes bulging, but Mouth stood his ground.

The one-eyed man looked Mouth up and down, and drove a tight fist into his stomach. Mouth collapsed to his knees, gasping for air.

"Hey!" roared Stef. She darted towards the youth, her fists ready to wail on him, when suddenly she found a gun barrel pointed right between her eyes. The youth's grin widened. He pulled back the hammer.

"That's enough, Wesley!" came a squeaky voice behind them.

A short, balding man with a crooked nose came towards them from the shadows.

"Good evening," he said with a wry smirk. "Name's Jack Torbett. You must be the famous Goonies I've heard so much about."

Stef and Chunk helped Mouth to his feet, his breathing heavier than ever. The others just stared at Torbett in utter silence. Torbett's lip tightened with impatience.

"I believe we're here to make an exchange."

"Where are Brand and Andy?" said Mikey.

Torbett gave him a hard stare, and then smirked.

"You must be Walsh. Well, if you'll just follow me."

Wesley stepped around behind them and prodded them forward with his gun. Torbett led them down the wharf to a rusty tub of a motor boat.

"Get in," he said.

Mikey stepped towards the boat when Jackie grabbed him by the arm.

"Mikey," she whispered. "We can't go with them. This won't be good."

Mikey looked up to see the rest of his friends staring at him, their eyes welling with fear.

"Well?" said Torbett.

Mikey turned to his friends. "What choice do we have?"

Mikey stepped into the boat, and Torbett's face swelled with pleasure. The others followed with heavy steps.

Torbett drove them out the mouth of the river and into the ocean. Mikey's heart was racing with fear. _I should have come alone_, he thought. Why didn't he come alone? He should have forced his friends to stay behind. There was no reason to put them in danger.

He watched as the shore receded into the darkness. The horrible feeling that he would never see it again stabbed at his chest.

A light in the distance caught his eye then. He looked up to see the moon rising above the sea, and a wispy patch of dark cloud pass in front of it. For just a moment, the cloud seemed to take the shape of a pirate ship.

Mikey smiled. Perhaps old One Eyed Willy was still out there somewhere, and perhaps he had just stopped by to wish him luck.

"Get ready," came Torbett's voice.

Mikey looked up to see the rusted behemoth _Goliath_ rising before them, and a shiver went down his spine. Torbett sidled the boat up next to a ladder and motioned with his hand.

"After you, Mr. Walsh."

Mikey glared at him, and began to make his way up. Mouth turned to Stef, who was blinking back tears. He took her hand and squeezed it tight.

"It'll be all right."

Stef began to smile just as Wesley stabbed Mouth in the back with his gun.

"We're going, One-eye, take it easy," said Mouth, grabbing hold of the ladder.

Mikey neared the top. Just before he could reach the last rung, he looked up to see a big beefy face staring back at him. A meaty, powerful hand grabbed him by the collar and hoisted him up onto the deck.

A hideous roar of laughter erupted from the ship's crew that had gathered around like rats to a rotting meal. Their laughter reminded Mikey of the chittering of the spider hoard.

Mouth and Stef appeared on deck, followed by Jackie, Data, and Chunk at the point of Torbett's gun. Wesley soared over the railing as if he were in a swashbuckler movie. He eyed Jackie up and down with a smirk on his face, spinning his gun on his finger.

"Thank you, Richter," came a deep, cold voice from among the throng of smugglers.

The beefy giant released Mikey from his suffocating grip as a tall, scarred man in a long gray coat approached him.

"Michael Walsh," he said with a grin. "At last we meet. I am Edward Garofalo."

Mikey's eyes filled with rage. He felt if maybe he stared hard enough, he could stab the man with them.

Garofalo swaggered right up to him and wrenched the golden cutlass from his belt. Mikey tried to grab for it, but immediately felt several guns pointed in his direction.

"Beautiful," said Garofalo, his eyes moving up and down the blade. "The sword of Acland himself. Well done, Michael. This will make a fine trophy."

With a firm grip on the hilt, Garofalo caressed the blade with his hooked hand.

Mikey's face burned. "Where's Brand and Andy?"

Garofalo looked back at him, the smile never leaving his face.

"Tell me, Michael, how has this adventure compared to your first? Was it as exciting? As dangerous? As thrilling? Was it everything you wanted it to be?"

Mikey furrowed his brow. "What?"

Garofalo eyes were locked tight onto his. "Because if it was, I believe thanks are in order."

Behind him, Mikey could hear the disgusting laughter of Torbett, Richter, and Wesley.

"Though I suppose I should thank you as well," said Garofalo. "You've no doubt brought me what I asked for."

"Show me Brand and Andy," said Mikey, barely able to contain his hatred.

Garofalo nodded. "I suppose that's fair."

He turned towards a door in the superstructure and shouted "Gowan, Rolfe!"

The door flew open, and a blonde haired punk with a lip ring leapt out on deck. In his hands was a machine gun, and slung over his shoulder was a belt of grenades.

"Them little shits finally got here," he said. "Let me waste em now, boss."

"Gowan!" barked Garofalo.

"Yeah, right," said Gowan. He reached inside the door and pulled out Andy by the arm.

"Andy!" Stef cried out.

A look of utter relief fell across Andy's face as her eyes watered.

Brand appeared behind her, his hands bound, with a bearded ruffian shoving him forward.

"Brand!" Mikey shouted.

"Mikey!" said Brand.

The two of them tried to run to each other, but the cocking of several guns made them stop.

"No no, lover boy, you ain't home free yet," said Gowan, poking him with his machine gun.

Mikey eyes went from Brand to Andy like tennis balls. They were dirty and disheveled, and Brand had a half healed cut on his neck, but they looked ok.

"Mikey, you shouldn't be here," said Brand with a scowl as the two thugs marched them towards Garofalo.

"I had to come, Brand."

Wesley eyed Andy as she neared. He took a step towards her and put his fingers in her hair. Andy drew back as if his hand were covered in maggots.

"Leave her alone, you son of a bitch!" said Brand.

Without even looking at him, Wesley threw his fist into Brand's jaw.

"Hey!" said Mikey.

"Enough!" said Garofalo. "You've seen them, Michael. Now where is the crown?"

Mikey looked at Brand and Andy, and then looked at each of his companions.

"It's hidden," he said.

Garofalo shut his eyes. "I hope, for your sake, nearby."

"Let them go, let all of them go, and I'll take you to it."

"Mikey, no!" said Mouth.

"No!" said Jackie.

The others all began to protest before a shot in the air from Wesley brought the entire night into a deathly silence.

Garofalo looked at Mikey. He was no longer smiling.

"I will not ask again, Michael. Where is it?"

Mikey stared back, his jaw set. "Let them go, and I'll tell you."

Garofalo stood there, still as a statue, and finally nodded. He slid the cutlass into his belt as he took a step towards Mikey's friends, surveying each of them one at a time. At last, his eye fell on Jackie.

Garofalo hooked her around the neck and jerked her towards him.

"No!" Mikey tried to race forward, but felt Wesley grab him by the jacket and shove his gun barrel into his back.

The others tried to rush Garofalo, but Torbett and Richter barred their way. Garofalo held Jackie tight as she struggled to breathe. From his pocket he pulled a Magnum revolver and pointed it towards her temple.

"Wait," said Mikey, his brain drowning in panic.

"One," said Garofalo.

"Don't!" said Mikey.

"Two."

"I have it!"

Garofalo looked at him.

"I have it, it's here." Mikey looked at his friends. "Data."

Data loosed a deep sigh, and unzipped his backpack. The crew of the _Goliath_ began to close in like hungry dogs about to be fed.

Data reached into his bag and produced the golden crown of Alfred the Great. Torbett shot forward, trying to grab it, but Garofalo beat him to it, dropping Jackie to the deck.

Mikey rushed to her side, wrapping his arms around her quaking shoulders.

Garofalo lifted the crown in his hooked hand, his eyes burning with triumph.

"Alright, you got what you wanted," said Stef. "We're leaving."

Brand and Andy darted towards their friends. Mikey shot to his feet and wrapped his arms around his brother while Andy and Stef fell into a deep embrace.

Andy was on the verge of tears. "Let's go home."

Mikey helped Jackie to her feet as they all began to creep towards the ladder.

"I think not," Garofalo called after them, and once again, Mikey felt a million guns pointed in his direction. His eyes clamped shut. He knew, in the back of mind he knew, it wouldn't be that easy.

"This is the greatest moment of my life," said Garofalo. "I can't have you lot spoiling it for me, now can I?"

Richter grinded a clenched fist into his palm.

"Let's kill them now, boss."

Garofalo thought for a moment. "No, their bodies washing up on shore will cause a scene. We'll wait until we're in open sea, and then we'll kill them. Take them below."

A cackling Gowan pressed them forward with his machine gun.

"You bastard!" Mikey shouted.

Garofalo handed Acland's cutlass to Gowan. "Take that to my quarters. Once again, Michael, well done."

Gowan, Rolfe, and a handful of other thugs grabbed the Goonies and dragged them towards the door below. They kicked and screamed and scratched, but their struggles were in vain.

Mikey looked up at the moon as the bearded Rolfe shoved him forward. Before it had just been a feeling, but now he knew he would never see home again.


	15. Chapter 14: Princes of the Sea

**Chapter 14: Princes of the Sea**

Mikey's sneakers scraped the wet floor of the corridor as Rolfe dragged him deeper into the belly of the _Goliath_. His mind scurried in every direction. He searched with bulging eyes for any means of escape, but everywhere he turned all he could see were men with guns.

"So this is it?" Chunk said with a whimper. "This is how our great adventure ends?"

"Shut up, Chunk," said Brand.

"But I don't wanna die!"

Jackie loosed a defeated moan.

"Chunk, stop talking like that," said Mikey.

Data was desperately patting himself down, searching for some gizmo of his that would help them. His trembling fingers couldn't find anything.

"If you're gonna kill us, just get it over with, you wussies," said Mouth with a defiant scowl.

"Clark, shut up," said Stef.

"All of you shut up!" said Gowan. "You're all goin down below. And we'll kill you when we damn well please."

With a devious cackle, Gowan forced them down a tight stairwell and into a dark passageway near the hold. Mikey could here men at work in there, unloading what sounded like large, heavy wooden crates.

"They're taking us back to that room," said Andy, tears streaming down her face. "Brand, do something."

"Uh…" said Brand. "I… I don't know what to."

"Brand!"

"Shut it!" snapped Gowan.

Andy looked from Brand to Gowan, and a fierce look formed on her face.

"Fine," she said. "If you're not gonna do something, I will!"

Andy thrust her fingernails into the face of the brute that held her. He let go of her, shrieking in pain, and Andy flung herself at Gowan.

"Andy!" Brand shouted.

She knocked Gowan to the floor. The other crewmen brought their guns up and prepared to rush her. Andy ripped a grenade from the belt Gowan wore and pulled the pin. Everyone in the corridor stopped dead. No one took a breath.

Andy stood still, holding the grenade with both hands, clamping the spoon down tight.

Rolfe aimed his gun squarely at her.

"Don't do anything stupid, now."

"Andy," said Brand. "Uh… please be careful."

"No!" she screamed. "I've had enough of these creeps, and enough of this damn ship! We're getting out of here now."

The other crewmen looked to Rolfe. Beads of sweat were sliding from his forehead into his thick beard. His trigger finger twitched.

Andy screamed suddenly as Gowan grabbed her from behind.

"Nice try, girly," he said with an ugly smile.

"Let her go!" Brand shouted, rushing towards them.

"Brand!" said Mikey, chasing after him.

The crewmen turned to grab them. Rolfe aimed his gun.

Then a heavy rattle filled the corridor. The grenade had dropped from Andy's hands.

The crewman screamed, fleeing like roaches. They tripped over themselves and crammed each other until the whole corridor was a squirming mass of bodies.

Brand broke loose from the fray and grabbed hold of the grenade. He kicked open a door into the hold and threw it inside. He saw the grenade land inside a crate branded with a red star just before he dove for cover.

The ship quaked with the boom of a fiery explosion. The mangling of steel echoed around them, and they felt the ship lurch.

Mikey was thrown to the floor, his hands clamped over his ears. Somewhere beyond the _Goliath's_ wails of agony came the unmistakable roar of sea water.

Before Mikey could fully register the chaos, a torrent of water came crashing on him from the hold. He latched onto a doorframe before the flood could carry him off. The gurgled screams of the crewman could be heard above the waves as they were dragged off into the darkness.

Mikey felt Chunk grab hold of his legs, and then Data grab hold of Chunk's. He suddenly felt a strong pull on his jacket. Mikey pried open one eye to see an enraged Rolfe hanging onto him. With his gun gone, he raised a hand to strike at Mikey.

Mikey brought a clenched fist down on Rolfe's head. The bearded ruffian lost his grip and was torn away by the flood.

Andy clung tight to Brand as they tried to stand in the rushing water. Gowan reared out of the foam, Acland's cutlass in his hand. He slashed at Andy, but the pounding water threw off his balance and he missed entirely.

Andy landed a kick squarely in his groin. He doubled over, dropping the cutlass, and she smashed her fist into his face. The rushing flood rose over Gowan and dragged him away.

Mikey saw where Gowan had dropped the sword, and his eyes bulged.

"Chunk, grab hold of the wall!"

"What?"

Mikey let go of the doorframe and let the water carry him down the corridor. Chunk screamed in surprise, instinctively releasing Mikey and jamming his fingers into a crack in the wall.

Mikey slammed his feet into the sides of the corridor, stopping himself. He reached deep into the water and grabbed the cutlass before it could be swept away.

With a proud smirk, Mikey pulled himself up.

Stef had grabbed hold of Jackie, and Jackie had grabbed hold of Mouth. The three of them stood up against the torrent.

"Andy, have you gone completely insane!" Stef shouted over the roar.

"I don't know. Maybe!" said Andy.

"It doesn't matter now," said Brand. "This thing is going down. We've gotta get back up to the deck."

They crawled towards the stairwell, fighting against the current.

"So we get up to the deck, and then what?" said Mouth. "Garofalo smiles and says 'You crazy kids!' and just lets us go?"

"Shut up, Mouth," said Brand. "We'll figure it out when we get there. If we stay down here, we're dead anyway."

Jackie slipped as she reached for the stairway, swaying backwards. Mikey caught her around the waist before she could be carried away. He held her tight. Their eyes met.

Mikey smiled. "Some adventure, huh?"

Jackie gave him a nervous smile. She was about to say something.

"Mikey, move!" Brand shouted.

With a scowl, Mikey clamored up the stairs.

Sopping wet, the Goonies came out on to another dark corridor. They huddled around a corner as a gaggle of crewman burst out of a door and into another hallway.

"Did we even come this way?" said Andy.

"We came down this corridor from a stairwell and through that other corridor," said Data.

"Wait," said Chunk. "I thought we came down this way from that one staircase."

"What ship were you guys on?" said Mouth. "We came down _this_ corridor-"

"Shut it!" said Stef. "Pick any stairway you want, let's just go up."

"Maybe we should split up," said Brand.

"That's a horrible idea!" said Mikey.

"Guys, the water's rising," said Jackie.

They spun around to see water gurgling out of the stairwell they had just come up.

"Go! Go!" said Brand.

They sprinted down a corridor and turned left. They zigzagged in every direction, searching for a stairway to lead them away from the rising water.

"I think I got it," said Brand. He led them towards a stairway at the end of a corridor. As he ran for the first step, Torbett appeared at the top, gun in hand, with a horde of crewmen behind him.

Brand's eyes bulged. Torbett threw up him gun, his face twisted in an ugly scowl, and fired. Sparks exploded out of the wall next to Brand's head.

"Run!"

The Goonies fled back down the corridor, Torbett and his goons right behind them. More shots came screaming towards them. They lowered their heads as bullets went whizzing by them.

Mikey spun around a corner to see the hulking giant Richter barreling towards them, dragging an iron chain behind him. Mikey stood his ground, gripping his cutlass, and ready to strike. As Richter charged towards him and the two prepared to clash, a hand grabbled Mikey's collar and dragged him down another corridor.

"Come on!" he heard Brand shout.

Another shot rang out from another corridor, and more crewmen came towards them with guns in their hands. Mouth, Data, and Chunk raced down one corridor with Richter following after. Brand and Andy were forced up a stairwell with a three brutes behind them. Torbett appeared between Mikey and Jackie, sending them running in opposite directions.

Mikey could hear shots, ricochets, shouts, and grunts echoing behind him. He rounded another corner and skidded to a halt. He struggled to catch his breath as he slumped against the wall.

Standing in the darkness, he found himself completely alone. The chaos behind him began to quiet, and he hoped that his friends had been able to evade capture.

They needed help. If there was any chance for them to escape the _Goliath_ with their lives, they needed help. He had to signal the shore. He smirked, thinking the explosion might have been enough, but he couldn't count on that. If he could make his way to the upper decks, the bridge even, maybe he could find a radio, or a flare gun, anything to signal for help.

But somewhere up there stood Edward Garofalo with his prize in hand. Whatever happened to Mikey, his friends, and this ship, Garofalo would escape with the greatest treasure he could ever dream of. Mikey scowled. That couldn't happen. He wouldn't let that happen.

Over the pounding of his heart, Mikey began to hear the hiss of sea water. He looked down the slanting corridor and saw foaming bubbles begin to pour in. Taking a deep breath, he turned from the invading sea and raced to find a stairwell.

###

Mouth, Data, and Chunk spilled through a doorway onto a large landing. On the floor below them was an iron behemoth of an engine, coughing and sputtering as the rising water choked the life from it.

"Uh, this isn't the deck," said Chunk.

"Yeah, no shit," said Mouth. "We gotta get back up, this thing's going fast."

Mouth paused, grinding a fist into his eye and wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Mouth? You ok?" said Data.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, rubbing the spider bite on his hand with a wince of pain. "Let's get out of here."

They turned back towards the door, but the shadow of a giant barred their way. The three of them froze, their eyes moving from the immense black boots up to the meaty face of Richter.

The brute took a step forward, cracking his immense knuckles. Mouth and Chunk backed away towards the railing, fear cemented on their faces. Data looked Richter square in the eye, and gave him a defiant smirk.

"Data's not afraid if you," he said. "Do your worst!"

"Uh… Data?" said Chunk.

"Don't worry, guys. No more fooling around. It's time to bust out the big guns."

Data threw up his arm towards Richter. "Pinchers of peril!"

A set of chattering teeth at the end of a long spring coil flew out of Data's sleeve. The pinchers soared towards Richter's chest and chomped down on one his meaty pecs.

Data smiled with triumph. Richter looked down at the chattering teeth, and a sneer curled on his beefy lips. Data watched as Richter wrapped a giant fist around his invention and crunched it between his fingers.

Data's face fell. "Oh no!"

Mouth and Chunk exchanged terrified glances. Richter chuckled, and the three Goonies heard the rattle of iron as Richter dragged a great black chain into view. Hooked onto the last link was a rusty bear trap. The jaws snapped open and shut like a hungry monster ready to feast.

Richter threw his cruel weapon into the air and swung the chain down towards Data. With a squeal of fear, Data dodged out of the way as the trap's sharp teeth raked the floor.

Mouth and Chunk ran in opposite directions as Richter swung the chain towards them. The chain caught Chunk around the knees and he fell face first to the cold floor. He struggled to free his legs as the giant brute loomed over him, a balled fist ready to smash into his face. Chunk shrieked, shielding himself with his arms.

With a fierce battle cry, Mouth charged towards Richter, his plumber's wrench in hand. With all his strength, he gave a Richter a bash behind the knees. If Mouth had knocked Richter off balance at all, the brute did a good job of hiding it.

Richter turned towards Mouth, grabbed him by the shirt, and hurled him towards the wall. Mouth landed on a large orange chest, sending it toppling over and spilling lifejackets onto the floor.

Data fumbled with switches on his chest, trying to find something useful, when a meaty feast grabbed hold of him. He gasped, looked up into Richter's smiling face, and felt his eyes well with horror.

Richter lifted him up off the floor and began to walk towards the edge of the landing. His smile broadened as he lifted Data higher over the railing. Data grabbed hold of Richter's arm, desperately trying to wrench himself free of the giant's grip. With his other hand, he rummaged through every pocket he had in search of anything that could help.

He grabbed hold of a small box with a dial on it. His hand flew from his pocket and right next to Richter's pink ear. A shrill siren screamed out of Data's bike alarm and straight into Richter's brain.

Richter dropped Data to the floor, screaming in agony as his hands clamped over his stinging ears. He stumbled towards the wall. Mouth had climbed to his feet, and wrench in hand, he smashed it across a pipe, breaking it in half. He grabbed the loose pipe and sent a blast of steam towards Richter. The brute covered his face, screaming louder. He staggered backwards towards the railing. Chunk dove behind his legs and balled himself up tight. Richter tripped over Chunk and over the railing, crashing into the foaming sea below.

"Yeah!" said Data, pumping his fist into the air.

"Gnarly," said Mouth.

Data helped Chunk to his feet and waded through the avalanche of lifejackets towards Mouth.

"Good move with the pipe," said Data.

"Hey, I'm just glad that bike thing of yours was good for something," said Mouth.

"Hey, what about me? I'm the one who knocked him over," said Chunk.

"Yeah, your unnatural girth is useful sometimes," said Mouth.

Chunk began to retaliate as Data dug through the orange crate Mouth had knocked over.

"Hey, look at this, guys."

He pulled out a wadded yellow bundle that said _Life Raft_. "We might need this."

"Yeah, no kidding," said Mouth as the gurgling water began to climb towards the landing.

"Let's go!" said Chunk, leading the way up the stairwell.

###

Stef darted around the corner of another passageway. She took a deep breath and looked over her shoulder. The men who were chasing her were gone. She was about to continue on when she heard pounding footsteps coming her way. She searched around her for a weapon. She didn't care what, she just needed something in her hands.

She stepped through a doorway and found herself in a utility room. She spotted a stack of lead pipes slumped against the wall and snatched one up. Stef peered through the cracked door, ready to pounce on whoever crossed her path. A shadow passed in front of her, and Stef leapt out into the hall prepared to bring her pipe down on Jackie's head.

"Stef!" she shrieked.

"Jesus!" said Stef, dropping the pipe to the floor with a clatter.

"You… you could have killed me."

"Sorry," said Stef, bending down to retrieve the pipe. "I thought you were one of those creeps. Have you seen anyone else?"

"No," said Jackie, rubbing her forehead. "Everyone got separated. I have no idea where we are."

"We just have to keep moving. We have to keep going up, and not let anyone catch us."

Jackie looked down the corridor. "I didn't see anything back that way. Let's try this way. God, this place is a maze."

Jackie barely took three steps forward when an arm reached out from the shadows and grabbed her by the hair. Jackie let out a squeal of pain as Stef raised her lead pipe.

Torbett pulled Jackie in tight and raised his gun to her head. He turned to Stef with a look of utter loathing.

"You lot have caused quite a bit of trouble," he said. "A bit more than I'm willing to tolerate."

"Let her go, now!" said Stef.

"You've fulfilled your end of the bargain," said Torbett. He cocked his gun. "It's time for us to fulfill ours."

Jackie's face swelled with anger as Torbett pressed the barrel into her cheek.

"I'm getting really sick of people pointing guns at me," she said.

Torbett smirked. "This will be the last time, I promise."

"Promise _this!_"

Shutting her eyes tight, she whipped a black cylinder from her pocket and sent a suffocating burst of pepper spray into Torbett's face.

Torbett's screams boomed across the corridor as he grabbed hold of his red, burning face. He hoisted his gun, and in his blind rage sent several shots flying in every direction. Stef and Jackie hit the floor, bullets bouncing off the walls.

Stef sat up and thrust her pipe squarely into Torbett's knee. Torbett dropped his gun, grabbing his knee and his face. Stef bolted upright and gave him a hard smack across the shoulders. Torbett collapsed to the floor unconscious.

Stef kicked Torbett's gun far down the hall. "Hope the weasel stay's down."

She reached down and helped Jackie to her feet. "You alright?"

Jackie gave her a weak smile. "I'm ready to get the hell out of here."

All Stef could do was smile back. "Me too, Jack."

###

The metallic echo of Mikey's footsteps filled the stairwell. He had entered the superstructure from below deck and was coming near what he assumed to be the bridge. Stopping before a steel door, he pressed his ear against it. Feet scurried across a hard floor and gruff orders were barked. Mikey recognized the voice of Garofalo, and felt a sudden impulse to throw the door open and thrust his sword into the man's black heart. His brain was able to squash it.

The door suddenly flew open in Mikey's face, and he was thrust back against the wall. Two crewmen came scurrying out of the bridge and down the staircase.

"To hell with it all, Garofalo! It's every man for himself," one of them shouted in a mad panic.

"Cowards!" Garofalo's voice boomed through the doorway.

No one had seen Mikey. He pressed himself against the ship's trembling wall, staying as still as he possibly could. He could hear Garofalo in the next room, the man's rage seething with every breath.

"Michael," Garofalo said in a cold whisper. Mikey heard a door fly open and Garofalo's heavy boots flee down a stairway. Now was his chance.

Mikey darted onto the bridge. Through the main window he could see the ship's nose begin to dive and the sea spill onto her deck. Her crew threw themselves overboard and furiously swam towards shore. Garofalo's men had abandoned him. Mikey couldn't help but smirk. After all the grief Garofalo had caused him and his friends, this was at least a morsel of victory Mikey took a moment to savor.

But he wasn't home free yet. He scrambled through the bridge, not knowing what he was looking for. He spotted a radio, but he had no time to figure how to work the thing and call for help. Attached to the wall, he spotted a black box labeled _Emergency_.

He threw it open and found a flare gun mounted inside. Mikey smiled. He grabbed the handle, broke open the barrel, and stuffed a red cartridge inside. He crammed the gun in his jacket pocket and made for the stairwell. Before his next step touched the ground, a hand grabbed him hard on the shoulder, and threw him against the wall with a violent rattle.

###

Brand and Andy burst out onto the deck of the _Goliath_. They ducked behind a steel crate as a horde of her crew ran by, shouting and half panicked as their ship began to dive. Brand looked towards the bow and saw the sea spilling onto her deck. The light of the moon bathed them all in dark blue glow, as if they were already ghosts on a doomed ship being dragged to the bottom.

Andy looked into Brand's eyes. "Brand, what are we gonna do?"

Brand shook his head, looking around in every direction. "I don't know. But we'll get out this, Andy, don't worry."

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I grabbed that grenade. This is all my fault."

"No, no, it's not! You probably saved our lives," Brand said with a smirk.

Andy gave him a smile in return. The roar of the sea grew louder.

"Listen, Andy. There's something I have to tell you. Something I've wanted to say for-"

A hand grabbed hold of Brand's shoulder and spun him around. Brand looked into the one eye of Wesley Garofalo. A smug grin formed on the man's bearded face.

Brand glared at him. "You."

The word was barely out of Brand's mouth before Wesley smashed his fist into Brand's cheek. Brand shot backwards, and Andy lunged at Wesley, her nails stabbing at his face.

Wesley grabbed hold of her wrists, his smile never fading. He took a long look at Brand, squeezed Andy's chin, and laid a wet kiss on her lips.

"You bastard!" said Brand. He threw himself at Wesley, knocking him away from her. Andy shut her eyes and grabbed hold of her mouth, beating back the urge to vomit.

Brand swung his fists at Wesley, again and again, the one-eyed man blocking each one. He grabbed Brand's wrist and twisted it back. Brand clenched his teeth as he felt his arm muscles strain. Wesley raised a fist and punched Brand square in the face. Brand felt his mouth fill with blood as he staggered back. Wesley shot forward, laying punch after punch across Brand's body.

Brand felt himself sprawl across the port railing, the sea churning beneath him. Wesley grabbed hold of Brand's hair and pulled tight. Wesley's smile brightened as he revealed his pearly white teeth. He looked back towards a tearful Andy, and gave her what she could only assume was a wink.

He looked back towards Brand and raised his fist again.

With a cry of defiance, Brand drove fist into Wesley's gut. Wesley staggered backwards, his look of pain finally wiping the smirk from his face. Brand shot to his feet and raised his fists like a boxer. He jabbed at Wesley three times in a row, and then hit him with a cross right in his bruised face.

Wesley swung back, but Brand bobbed out of the way of each one. With every ounce of strength he had left, Brand loosed a whirlwind of blows on Wesley, striking him again and again across the face and stomach.

Brand's barrage pushed Wesley back across the entire deck, and the one-eyed man fell across the starboard railing, blood spilling from his mouth. He began to straighten, lifting his fist to strike Brand across the face.

Brand leered at the man, and spat a wad of blood onto the deck.

"I hate pirates."

Brand smashed his fist into Wesley's nose, sending him flying over the railing and into the sea.

Andy came running up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist as he nearly collapsed into her.

"Oh my God, Brand. You're bleeding! You have to-"

"I love you, Andy."

Andy's eyes widened as her jaw fell open. Brand smiled as his face burned red beneath all the swelling. Andy put her head on his shoulder as he held her tight.

"I love you too."

"Well, that's just precious," came a voice from behind them. They looked up to see Stef immerging from below.

"Stef!" Andy said with a smile, rushing to her friend's side.

"Are you guys alright?" said Stef.

Brand spat out another wad of blood. "I'm great."

"Stef, you're crying," said Andy. "Oh, don't worry, sweetheart! We'll get out of this."

"I'm not crying!" Stef snapped. "It's just the damn mace."

"The what?"

Jackie came up behind Stef. Her eyes fell on Brand and Andy.

"Oh hi," she said with an awkward smile. "I'm Jacqueline, by the way. Jacqueline Page. I don't think we've officially met. In fact, I just met most-"

"Guys, I think it's time to abandon ship!" Chunk shouted as he came running at them from across the deck.

"Wait," said Brand. "Where's Mikey? I thought he was with you guys."

"We thought he was with you," said Data.

Mouth came up behind them, sweating and pale. He grabbed hold of the railing to steady himself as the ship lurched forward.

The waves crashed and roared as they climbed to devour the Goonies.

They scrambled higher up the deck towards the super structure, but the sea was coming and it was coming fast. Mouth staggered behind them, unable to keep up.

"Mouth, come on!" Stef shouted.

Mouth leaned far over the railing, his hand clamped over his bandage.

"Clark?"

Mouth's eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he plunged headlong into the sea.

"Clark!"

Stef sprinted towards the railing. Gasping in as deep a breath as she could hold, she dove after him.

"Stef!" shouted Andy. "Guys, we have to help them!"

Data had already pulled the cord off the raft. He and Chunk hurled it into the ocean as it began to inflate.

"Let's get out of here!" said Chunk as he leapt over the railing. Data and Jackie followed close behind him.

Brand planted his feet on the deck. "We're not leaving without Mikey!"

"Brand, it's too late!" Andy cried above the crashing waves that rose to swallow them.

###

Mikey looked up through a bleary haze of pain. Looming over him was the dark shadow of Edward Garofalo.

Mikey's eyes widened with horror. He inched his way backwards as Garofalo took a step towards him. Garofalo reached into a cabinet and pulled out a machete. As he took another step towards Mikey, he dragged the blade across the wall with a wicked hiss.

"Again, Michael, many thanks," said Garofalo, his dark eyes boring into Mikey. "You did bring me a priceless treasure."

With his hooked hand, Garofalo tapped the Sovereign's Crown where it hung from his belt.

"But you have cost me my ship, and my crew." Garofalo ran his hook down the machete. "I was only going to kill you before, Michael. But now… I'm going to eat your heart."

Garofalo plunged the machete towards the floor as Mikey rolled out of the way. Before he even knew what he was doing, Acland's cutlass was in his hand, and he gave Garofalo a good slash across the shin as he leapt to his feet.

Garofalo grunted, tightening his scarred face. He rounded on Mikey, a smirk on his lips.

Dizzying pain still swam through Mikey's head, and he tried to shake it off as quick as he could before Garofalo's hook lodged in his guts. He brought his sword up, ready for whatever Garofalo had in store for him.

"Have you taken a life before, Michael?" said Garofalo.

Mikey glared at the man. "I'd be willing to try it with you."

Garofalo smiled. "I've taken many. I am a true pirate. What are you?"

Mikey smiled back. "I'm a Goony."

Garofalo cackled. "And just what is a Goony supposed to be?"

Mikey looked at the sword in his hand and then straight into Garofalo's eyes. "We are one and all Princes of the Sea."

Mikey swung at Garofalo. Their blades clashed, filling the bridge with the ring of steel. Mikey ducked behind the ship's helm as the machete sang towards his head. He spun the wheel towards Garofalo, striking him in the face with a spinning handle.

Garofalo staggered back, then charged forward, thrusting his machete towards Mikey's chest. Mikey parried and slashed again, giving Garofalo a cut in the arm.

As the man grabbed his bleeding wound, Mikey flew towards the door. He came out onto a walkway that circled the superstructure. The deck had vanished beneath white foam. All that remained was a rusty tower that was quickly plunging into the darkness.

In the churning waves below, Mikey could see a yellow life raft being tossed about. In the light of the moon, he could see figures climbing aboard it, and one of them looked like his brother.

"Brand!" Mikey shouted.

The figure looked up and raised an arm. "Mikey!"

Mikey raised a foot to the railing, about to leap off, when he felt cold steel bite into his flesh.

"Aaaaahhhhh!" Mikey fell backwards, holding his arm.

Garofalo stood next to him, Mikey's blood on his hook. Mikey raced towards the stern, Garofalo close behind him.

Mikey stumbled over a coil of chain and grabbed hold of the rail at the end of the ship. The _Goliath_ reared out of the sea like a dying leviathan. In his mad dash, Garofalo dropped his machete as he leapt atop Mikey, his hand closing in around his throat.

Mikey grabbed hold of the man's wrists as he tried to bring his hook down into his chest. With the little strength he had remaining, Mikey kneed Garofalo in the stomach and rolled out from under him.

The _Goliath_ was fading, and the floor beneath them was going vertical. Mikey stuck his cutlass in his belt and pulled himself over the railing, hanging off the back of the ship.

Garofalo followed after him, wrapping his arm around the loose chain to steady himself. He slashed and stabbed at Mikey with his hook. Mikey ducked and dodged, struggling to keep his balance.

"I'll send you to the bottom, Michael," Garofalo roared. "If I have to bring you there myself."

"Fine," Mikey said. His eyes fell on the glint of gold at Garofalo's belt. "But you're not taking this with you!"

Mikey's hand shot out and he snatched the Sovereign's Crown from Garofalo.

Garofalo's eyes erupted with fury as he lunged after Mikey, his hook swinging for him. Before Garofalo could sink his hook into Mikey's heart, the waves came crashing in around them.

Mikey twisted and turned amidst a storm of bubbles. He opened his eyes to find himself being pulled into an unending abyss. The black carcass of the _Goliath_ sank into the darkness with its bellowing iron moans, and Mikey kicked his feet towards the pale, scattered moonlight.

But he couldn't reach it. The _Goliath_ was pulling him down with it. He looked down into the darkness again. No, it wasn't the ship. It was Garofalo.

His hook had found the crown, but his arm was still tangled in the chain. Now Mikey was locked in a deadly tug of war with Garofalo and his entire ship, with the crown as the prize.

Mikey hauled on the crown with all his might, but Garofalo pulled back. His eyes burned with hatred as he pulled Mikey deeper into the sea. Mikey jerked the crown in every direction, but Garofalo would not let it go. He would bring Mikey and the crown with him.

Mikey looked into Garofalo's face and clenched his jaw.

_Fine_ he shouted in his head. _Take it_.

Mikey pried his fingers off the crown, and suddenly felt as if he were weightless. Garofalo screamed with fury as the blackness rose to swallow him. Amidst a pillar of Garofalo's pitiful bubbles, the crown of Alfred the Great vanished into the sea.

The Pacific Ocean air had never smelt so sweet as Mikey burst through the surface. His lungs felt like daggers had just been pulled out of them. He bobbed there for a moment, catching his breath, when he heard his brother's voice.

"Mikey!"

Mikey twisted about, and saw the yellow blob of the life raft floating nearby. Mikey had no strength left to swim for it, but he couldn't help but smirk at the thought of giving up now. He kicked his way towards it and reached up. Immediately, five pairs of hands grabbed hold of him.

"Mikey," Jackie beamed as he collapsed beside her. "Oh my God, you're hurt."

She placed a gentle hand on his bloody jacket sleeve.

"It's just the old hook in the arm," Mikey said with a smirk. "Nothing I can't handle."

"What happened to Garofalo?" said Data.

Mikey frowned. "He got his crown, but his ship got him."

"Stef!" Andy shouted suddenly.

They all scurried to the edge of the raft to see Stef swimming towards them, her arm around Mouth. They pulled them both aboard but Stef immediately shoved them all back.

"Give him air!" she said, her eyes beginning to well. Mouth wasn't moving.

"Stef…" said Chunk, his face ghostly white.

Stef pressed her head to Mouth's chest. He still wasn't moving. She sprung up and dragged Mouth to the center of the raft.

"Give me room everyone." They could all hear the desperation in her voice.

Stef put her mouth onto his and breathed deeply into him. She took a deep gulp of air and breathed again.

Brand held Andy tight as she clutched his chest, their wide eyes locked on Mouth's still body. Data sat frozen next to Chunk, who began to whimper.

Tears began to well in Jackie's eyes and she reached out and squeezed Mikey's hand. Mouth still didn't move.

Mikey looked down at the cutlass in his belt. Was this it? Was this what his great adventure was all about? Did his friend have to die so Mikey could carry home a rusty sword and a few extra scars? Mikey shut his eyes tight and felt the sting of tears being to fill them.

"Hey," came a groggy voice.

Mikey's eyes flew open and he saw Mouth raising his head. "Did I miss all the fun?"

"Mouth!" the Goonies cried in unison. They would have piled on top of him had Stef not been there to beat them back.

"Clark," she said through a tearful smile. "You're ok."

"Of course I'm ok," said Mouth sitting up. "We're all running around on a sinking ship while I'm nursing a big nasty spider bite. It's exhausting. I may need a time out, but that doesn't mean I'm out of the game."

Stef frowned at him. "You really scared me, Clark."

Mouth raised a hand to his lips. "Did you just… give me mouth to mouth?"

Stef's face burned red. "Well, yeah, I thought you were dying."

Mouth's face began to turn red. "Did you really?"

"It's not like I wanted to, Mouth!" said Stef. "It was disgusting, but somebody had to. You could have drowned, you could have been-!"

Mouth shot forward and pressed his lips against Stef's. She became rigid for a brief a moment, but then relaxed. She raised a hand to caress Mouth's cheek as she let herself sink into him. The silence that followed was unlike anything the others had ever heard.

They parted after a moment, and for the first time ever, they had nothing to say to each other. So they just smiled, and kissed again.

Chunk and Data began to chuckle. They looked over at Jackie. Jackie looked at Mikey, who felt himself begin to turn red.

"So uh…" he began.

"Mikey!" said Brand, grabbing his brother by the shoulders.

"Ow, easy."

"Are you hurt?"

"Well, I'm gonna be if you don't-"

Brand squeezed Mikey tight. "You shouldn't have come, Mikey. I shouldn't have gotten you into this."

"No, Brand," said Mikey, pushing him away. "I had to come for you. For the same reason you would've come for me."

Brand smiled as best he could through his swollen lips. He looked over at Mouth's bandaged hand.

"Spider bite? What the hell did you guys get into?"

"Oh, y'know, the usual," he said with a smile. "Secret caves, booby traps, buried treasure… giant bears."

"Hey look, you guys!" Data shouted.

Three searchlights were cruising over the surface of the water in the distance.

"Hey, over here!" Chunk yelled, waving his arms in the air. Everyone else jumped up as well, shouting as loud as they could. A crimson blast shot into the air followed by a sharp whistle, which made them all fall silent.

They looked to see Mikey with the flare gun in the air, a smile on his face.

A sheriff's boat sidled up next to their raft just as the glowing flare settled back into the sea.

"Mikey, Brand!" the Sheriff said, shining his flashlight down on them. "Where have you all been? Are you alright? What the hell happened out here?"

"Well, sheriff," said Chunk. "It all started when Mikey wanted to go to the library."

Mouth laughed. "Was that just last night? That feels like it was four years ago."


	16. Epilogue: A World of Adventure

**Epilogue: A World of Adventure**

The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" said Mikey, shooting up out of his seat. "Scuse me, pardon me."

He stepped over Data and avoided squashing Andy's toes.

"Sorry, Mr. Cohen," he said as he stumbled into the armchair he sat in.

"Oh, that's all right, Mike," Chunk's dad said with a merry chuckle.

"Oh, Mikey," said his mother Harriet. "Is that your new friend at the door?"

"The one he's got the hots for," said Mouth with a smirk as he took a sip of his root beer.

"Oh," said Harriet, her face brightening. "Do you like this girl?"

Mikey's face burned. "Mom, just be cool, _please_."

"Don't be a jerk," Stef said to Mouth, giving him a poke in the ribs.

"I thought you liked that about me?"

Stef squinted at him, but gave him a smile. Mouth leaned his head towards hers.

"Hey, there's a time and a place, son," said Mouth's dad, whacking the back of his head with his ball cap.

Irving Walsh laughed as he took his seat near the TV.

"Hey Mikey, it's almost on. You're gonna miss it," he said as he cranked up the volume.

"Be right there," Mikey called as he reached the front door. He took a deep breath, and even took a hit from his inhaler, just in case. He flung the door open to find Jackie standing there, her cheeks rose red and a striped scarf around her neck.

"Hi," she said with a smile, the rest of her face matching her cheeks.

"Hi," Mikey said with a goofy smile.

Mikey remembered to stand aside and let the girl in this time.

"I made cookies," she said holding up a plateful.

Chunk hopped up out of his seat.

"I'll take those," he said, relieving her of the burden.

Mikey scowled at Chunk, but Jackie just smiled.

"Oh, here it is," said Andy with a squeal of excitement.

Mikey and Jackie rushed into the living room as everyone crowded around the TV.

The two teams squared off at midfield. The Oregon Ducks snapped the ball back as the two lines clashed and passed it off to Sloth Cohen. Sloth reared his head over the chaos, a big happy smile on his face. He looked shear across the field to the end line, where one of the photographers was unwrapping a Baby Ruth.

"Ruth!" Sloth squealed. "Ruth! Ruth! _Baby!_ Ruth!"

Any play in action was abandoned as Sloth shot down the field, plowing through opponent and teammate alike.

Sloth sprinted into the end zone, tackling the photographer, and came up again with the candy bar in his hands.

Sheer bliss melted across Sloth's face as stuffed it into his mouth, and the big, bold, red letters of Baby Ruth blazed across the TV screen.

The Walsh's living room erupted with laughter and applause.

"That's my boy, Sloth!" said Chunk with a mouthful of cookies.

"That was the best commercial ever!" said Data.

"Now on with the game," said Mouth's dad. "I better go check on the burgers. Your boy's got these guys beat, Cohen."

Chunk's dad laughed.

Jackie turned to Mikey. "Your house looks great."

"Oh thanks," said Mikey. "The insurance covered most of the damage, but when Dad appraised Crooked Joe's cutlass, it was worth more than enough for a few extra things."

They both laughed.

"It was really nice of you to share that money with all of us," said Jackie. "You really didn't have to do that."

"Of course I did!" said Mikey. "We were all in that together. It belonged to all of us."

"Well, it was a hell of a first impression on my parents, telling them my new friend almost got me killed, but he also wanted to share his pirate treasure with us."

Mikey felt himself turn red again, but laughed when Jackie gave him a playful slap on the chest.

Jackie glanced at everyone else in the living room, drew in close to Mikey, and lowered her voice to a whisper.

"So what was it you wanted to show me?"

Mikey looked at his brother, who sat with his arm around Andy, her head resting on his chest. Brand looked up at him, glanced towards Jackie, and winked at him. Mikey smiled back.

"Come on," he said to Jackie.

Not sticking around for the coin toss, he led her upstairs and towards the ladder to the attic. Mikey climbed up into the dusty darkness, Jackie following close behind. He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet, stepping aside as he did so to allow her to ahead of him.

The afternoon sun beamed through the high window, casting a golden glow across all the treasures that surrounded her. She smiled. She ran her fingers across the breastplate of a suit of armor and stared in wonder at a map of the ancient world.

"So this is it?" she asked. "This is where all your adventures started?"

"Yep," said Mikey. "This is where I found Crooked Joe's spyglass and the map to One Eyed Willy's treasure."

"So do you think there's _another_ great adventure waiting up here for you?"

Mikey smiled and shrugged. "Could be."

He gazed at Jackie for a long moment, admiring how pretty she looked in the golden light. He glanced over at the wooden figurehead.

Jackie looked over the collection of wonders and snatched up a brass compass with a broken arrow.

"Maybe it's this," she said.

"Oh absolutely," Mikey said with excitement. "Cause you see, that was the magic compass of Captain Kidd. It doesn't point north, it points the way to his lost treasure."

"Oooh," said Jackie, her eyes brightening. She picked up a bronze Inca dagger. "What about this?"

"Of course," said Mikey. "Walter Raleigh discovered that deep in the Amazon. It's the only known artifact from El Dorado, the lost city of gold."

"Fascinating. And this right here?" She pointed to a framed ancient document written in an indiscernible calligraphy.

"Oh, that," said Mikey with deep, dramatic flair. "The last words scrawled by the dying hand of Ferdinand Magellan. Within it lies a secret code to finding his greatest discovery. The lost continent of Lemuria."

"Wow," she said, drawing closer to him. "You really now all about this stuff."

"Well, I am a _great adventurer_ after all."

"So, Michael Walsh, the great adventurer" she picked up a shimmering gold amulet. "Tell me what this is."

Mikey felt her eyes run up and down him as she bit her lip. He felt his head swimming as he looked down at the treasure, and his mind went completely blank.

"Uh…" he stammered. "I don't know."

"Well, maybe we should find out," Jackie said, looking deep into his eyes. She inched closer towards him. "Are you ready for another grand adventure?"

Mikey looked deep into her, and he felt himself standing taller than he had ever felt before, and feeling braver than he knew he had ever been.

"Yes."

Before he even knew what was happening, his eyes were shut, and he was kissing her. Somewhere a million miles away he heard the amulet clatter to the floor, and Jackie's arms slowly wrapped around his neck. His arms circled her waist and he kissed her more deeply.

The two greatest adventures he could have ever dreamed of had begun in that very attic, and now began the third and greatest of all.


End file.
